Nomainvest

What Nomainvest does

Nomainvest is a privately held Belgian family holding company headquartered in Eupen that operates as a long-term shareholder and strategic partner to ambitious, founder-led companies, primarily in Belgium, Germany, and the broader Benelux/DACH region. Founded in the 1980s when Yves, Dominique, and Isabelle Noël consolidated their controlling stake in NMC (originally established in 1950) into a dedicated holding vehicle, the firm is now controlled jointly by the Noël and Jolly families following a 2004 strategic partnership. The holding does not develop proprietary technology itself; rather, it curates and governs a portfolio of more than 25 companies spanning synthetic foams, glass processing, precision engineering, carbon nanotubes, pharmaceuticals, wealth management, language training, rail services, sustainable construction, and energy-harvesting semiconductors. Its largest and only majority-owned operating asset is NMC, an international synthetic-foams leader with approximately 300 million euros in annual revenue and 1,700 employees across 16 production sites in Europe, Russia, and South America, supplemented by strategic minority positions in Schumag, Sprimoglass, Rattay, Talbot Services, Nanocyl, Ceran/Chateauform', Econopolis, IsoHemp, Hyloris, and several early-stage technology companies.

The holding company itself operates with 11-50 employees, generating income through dividends, capital gains, and investment returns rather than direct product pricing. Its go-to-market is relationship-driven: deal flow originates from the Noël family's regional network (Yves Noël's tenure as NMC CEO since 1982 and Chairman since 2000), portfolio-company referrals, and partnerships with regional capital vehicles such as Investsud and Ostbelgieninvest. Value proposition centers on patient capital, active board participation, and access to operational know-how from scaling NMC internationally, with no pressure for immediate exits. Nomainvest explicitly frames its mission around regional economic development and sustainable job creation, citing 9,400 jobs created through Investsud's deployment of 170 million euros in 400+ Walloon SMEs, and follows a formal family charter governance model with external board members, audit, and remuneration committees formalized in 2000.

Name

Nomainvest

Legal name

NOMAINVEST

Website

https://nomainvest.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Nomainvest is a Belgian family holding company that acts as a long-term shareholder and strategic partner in ambitious SMEs across Benelux and DACH, holding a majority stake in NMC (synthetic foams, approximately 300 million euros revenue) and minority positions in 20+ companies spanning pharma, engineering, glass, rail services, wealth management, and deep-tech.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Family Holding Company / Private Equity Investment

akta.pro primary industry

Captive CVC Fund (Dedicated corporate fund structure) (FSANAHAB)

Keywords

• Family holding company
• Strategic investment partner
• Venture capital investments
• Portfolio management
• Private equity

Headquarters

HQ city

Eupen

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Nomainvest is a private family holding company that takes equity stakes in ambitious companies with innovative projects and competent management teams. It acts as a shareholder and strategic partner, providing growth capital, active board participation, and long-term operational guidance. The holding concentrates a majority stake in NMC (synthetic foams) alongside minority positions in more than 20 portfolio companies spanning manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, language training, financial services, precision engineering, rail services, and clean technology.

Product overview

Nomainvest is a family holding company (Familienholding) that acts as a shareholder and strategic partner for ambitious companies with innovative projects and competent, motivated teams. It does not offer a unified product in the traditional sense, but rather manages a diversified portfolio of investments in 27 companies across various industries including synthetic foams (NMC), language training (Ceran/Chateauform'), financial services (Investsud, Econopolis), staffing/production services (Quip), rail vehicle services (Talbot), carbon nanotubes (Nanocyl), glass products (Sprimoglass), precision engineering (Schumag, New Laser), pharmaceuticals (BePharBel, Hyloris, EyeD Pharma), industrial tools (BKS, Rattay), sustainable construction (IsoHemp), technology startups (Mirmex Motor, Apeo, E-PEAS), and educational services (WEP). Nomainvest actively manages its majority stake in NMC while pursuing diversification of its participations across regional enterprises.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NMC (Noël Marquet et Compagnie)
• Ceran / Chateauform'
• Investsud

Quantifiable outcome

• Creation of 9,400+ jobs through Investsud investments in Wallonia
• +1 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered significant and core.

• SELIT GroupsignificantStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2017NMC established strategic partnership with SELIT Group, both leaders in synthetic foam development, production and marketing. NMC acquired majority shareholding, creating a group with approximately 270 million euros annual turnover and over 1,600 employees.
• Aeroline and Aeroflex EuropesignificantStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2017NMC group took over the Baumann Group and its Aeroline and Aeroflex Europe businesses via subsidiaries in Belgium and Germany.
• Family JollycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic long-term partner of the Noël family since 2004. The Jolly family became a strategic investor in Nomainvest, opening capital to an external investor group.

Scale indicators22 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Indutrade: Swedish-listed industrial technology group built via long-term acquisition of niche industrial companies across Europe. Comparable to Nomainvest's industrial-anchor strategy (NMC, Schumag, Rattay, Sprimoglass) and decentralized operating model.
• Wendel: French-listed, family-controlled industrial holding with long-term, patient-capital approach to controlling stakes in European industrial and services companies. Comparable to Nomainvest's long-duration, family-led holding structure and majority-ownership orientation.
• Sofina: Belgian-listed investment holding with a diversified portfolio of growth-stage companies across consumer, digital, healthcare, and sustainable sectors. Closely comparable to Nomainvest as a Belgian family-anchored, patient-capital multi-sector investor with similar European geographic focus.
• Gimv: Belgian-listed investment company providing growth capital and buyout financing to mid-cap companies with strong European (especially Benelux) focus. Comparable to Nomainvest's mix of majority operating businesses and minority growth investments in Belgian/German SMEs.
• Luxempart: Luxembourg-listed investment holding making minority and majority investments in unlisted European companies. Closely comparable to Nomainvest as a Benelux-region family-anchored investor with similar SME-focused investment approach and proven co-investment relationship (Rattay).
• Hal Investments: Dutch family-owned investment company with a diversified portfolio of listed and unlisted companies across Europe. Directly comparable to Nomainvest as a Benelux family-controlled holding with broad sector exposure and long investment horizons.
• Ackermans & van Haaren: Belgian diversified holding with controlling stakes in industrial, engineering, and real estate companies (DEME, CFE, SIPEF, etc.). Highly comparable as a long-term family-controlled Belgian holding combining industrial majority stakes with financial participations.

Broad incumbents

• Investor AB: Swedish-listed holding controlled by the Wallenberg family with controlling stakes in major listed industrial, healthcare, and technology companies. Comparable as a multi-generational family holding with a long-term value-creation mandate, though significantly larger and more focused on listed equity.
• Eurazeo: French-listed investment company with diversified PE, private debt, and real assets strategies. Comparable to Nomainvest's investment holding model but operating as a publicly-listed fund manager rather than a family-controlled balance-sheet investor.
• Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL): Belgian-listed holding controlled by the Frère family, with larger-scale, more liquid investments in global listed equities and large European industrial groups. Comparable to Nomainvest as a Belgian family-controlled holding but at substantially larger scale and with different liquidity profile.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nomainvest

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries26 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments4 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Nomainvest