22 November 2022

CataCap invests in The Army Painter

CataCap has invested in The Army Painter – a market leader in paint and accessories for the wargaming hobby industry. With a strong focus on innovation and value-for-money, The Army Painter has been able to gain the support of dedicated and passionate hobbyists around the world. CataCap will become the majority shareholder and work together with The Army Painter’s management team and current owner, who will re-invest for a significant minority, to continue the ambitious growth journey and strengthen the company’s ESG profile.

CataCap has acquired 60% of The Army Painter, a leading paint and accessories brand for the wargaming hobby industry. The wargaming hobby revolves around tabletop warfare games that incorporate self-painted miniature figures and creative landscapes. CEO and co-founder of The Army Painter, Bo Penstoft, will remain a significant shareholder and continue to support the company on its future growth journey on a day-to-day basis.

The Army Painter was founded in 2007 by Bo Penstoft and Jonas Færing, two Danish wargaming experts, and is based out of Skanderborg, Denmark. The Army Painter develops and sells a range of innovative and value-for-money products for passionate hobbyists globally, utilizing both distributors and direct-to-consumer channels. Building on a “for-gamers, by-gamers” ethos, the company has grown +30% p.a. from 2010 to 2021. In 2022, the company launched Speedpaint, an innovative line of paints that has been nominated for several awards and made the wargaming hobby more accessible for a broader audience.

“The Army Painter has been on an incredible growth trajectory since being founded in 2007. We are impressed by the company’s strong understanding of its end-customers’ needs and its ability to continually develop products that cater to these needs. The wargaming hobby industry is a particularly attractive niche where we see strong underlying growth driven by passionate and dedicated gamers. The Army Painter is uniquely positioned to realize the growth potential and we are looking forward to contributing in strengthening the company’s position on the market,” says Jens Hahn-Petersen, partner at CataCap.

Securing growth in core & new markets while delivering on an ambitious product roadmap
CataCap will support future growth at The Army Painter while ensuring that the “for-gamers, by-gamers” ethos and company culture is maintained. CataCap will help The Army Painter team pursue further penetration of core and new markets and assist in delivering on an innovative product roadmap that will continue to cater to hobbyist needs. As an integral part of this, CataCap will help strengthen the underlying platform of The Army Painter – focusing on people, systems, and processes. Likewise, CataCap will work on developing the ESG profile of the company, with the goal of creating an industry leader focused on e.g. innovative packaging solutions and community involvement.

We have been thoroughly impressed by CataCap’s knowledge of the wargaming hobby industry and the underlying dynamics affecting the industry. More importantly, however, we appreciate CataCap’s deep understanding of The Army Painter as a company, including the values and culture that underpin our day-to-day work and the opportunities that lie ahead. We look forward to partnering with CataCap and embarking on the next chapter of The Army Painter’s growth journey,” says Bo Penstoft.

Press coverage:
finans.dk
kapwatch.dk
skanderborgliv.dk

For more information please contact:

CataCap
Jens Hahn-Petersen, Partner
+45 20 40 72 03
jhp@catacap.dk

The Army Painter
Bo Penstoft, CEO
+45 30 31 55 70
bmp@thearmypainter.com

Share this article

About The Army Painter
The Army Painter is a global leading paint and accessories brand serving the wargaming and other tabletop games hobby industry with innovative and value-for-money products. The company was founded in 2007and is headquartered in Skanderborg, Denmark.
www.thearmypainter.com

About CataCap
CataCap invests in SMEs that hold a significant development potential and have an innovative business model with long-term sustainability.

CataCap’s business concept is to act as a catalyst for sustainable step changes through a systematic and consistent approach to strengthening business development, operational processes and leadership development in active interaction with management and employees of the portfolio companies.

CataCap operates through an extended organisation in which CataCap’s own employees are supplemented by Operating Partners, Development Partners and Executive Advisors. The teams for each investment are recruited from this group.
CataCap is a proactive and dedicated owner. The systematic hands-on approach to developing CataCap’s businesses is intended to increase both the speed and sustainability of business step changes, thereby creating long-term value for all stakeholders as well as stable excess returns for investors.
www.catacap.dk/about