Arbo

Who owns Arbo?

Arbo is currently owned by Renaissance Partners through NB Renaissance Fund III (2019 vintage), since 2022. Across its history, Arbo has been through 3 private equity ownership periods, detailed in the timeline below.

Hand-verified · updated 2026-07-21

About Arbo

Arbo SpA is a Fano-based industrial distributor and the largest independent Italian wholesaler of spare parts for building heating systems, active also in spare parts for sanitary, heating and plumbing installations and in air conditioning equipment. Founded in 1968, the group supplies gas boiler and thermal-plant components through a dense branch network, operating roughly 70 points of sale across Italy under the Arbo and Verco banners and a further six in Spain under the Arbo Iberica and Distribuciones Suner names, with operations extending to the United Kingdom. It serves more than 27,000 professional customers each year, positioning itself as the reference independent platform in a fragmented aftermarket for heating and cooling components. By 2021 revenues had reached about EUR 79 million, having compounded at close to 10 percent a year over the preceding five years.

Ownership journey

Arbo was founded in Fano in 1968 and built over subsequent decades into Italy's leading independent distributor of spare parts for heating systems. The evergreen industrial holding Narval Investimenti, owned by the Giubergia and Argentero families, has backed the company from 2018, alongside Bravo Capital Partners, which invested through its Bravo Capital Partners I fund in 2018. In 2022 NB Renaissance invested in the group through its Renaissance Partners III fund, with the senior management team led by chairman Daniele Franco and chief executive Giovanni Casali reinvesting to preserve continuity. Bravo Capital Partners exited in 2022 via a secondary transaction, while Narval Investimenti remains an active shareholder through a minority co-investment. NB Renaissance is the current active backer, and no further exit or secondary transaction has been recorded.

Under PE ownership

The investment thesis centered on consolidating Arbo's leadership in Italy, scaling its international operations and entering adjacent product segments, both organically and through acquisitions. Under private-equity ownership revenues grew from roughly EUR 32 million to about EUR 79 million by 2021, at close to a 10 percent compound annual growth rate over the last five years, with strong profitability. The group extended its footprint beyond Italy into Spain, where it operates through the Arbo Iberica and Distribuciones Suner networks, and into the United Kingdom. From 2022 the stated agenda has been to deepen Italian coverage, widen the international platform and broaden the range from heating parts into sanitary, plumbing and air conditioning components. Managerial continuity under Franco and Casali has anchored this build-up strategy through the change in ownership.