Nico Taverna, the former head of secondary investments at Schroder Adveq, set up his own private equity firm just two months before the first coronavirus cases started appearing in China. Soon after, he began working on his first deal.

Based in Zurich, Mill Reef Capital focuses on GP-led secondaries transactions targeting deals with values between €10m and €20m in western Europe. Taverna, who left Schroder Adveq in September 2019, partnered with former LGT Capital Partners executive director Gregor Hasler and formally launched the company in October.