Grand Basin Capital founder joins Kirchner Group

The merchant bank, which manages assets for family offices, institutional investors and insurance companies, has taken on an agriculture and sustainability investment specialist as a managing director.

Sean Holt, the founder of Grand Basin Capital, a Canadian sustainable agriculture, fisheries and forestry investment firm, has joined merchant bank Kirchner Group as its managing director and co-head of impact.

Kirchner set up subsidiary Meritus Kirchner Capital in 2013, and the firm is now raising its US Department of Agriculture’s Rural Business Investment Program-approved (RBIP) Meritus Kirchner RBIC Fund II, which will make growth capital investments in sectors deemed to drive rural economies in the US. It is targeting $100 million. The bank also runs a food and agriculture investment and company advisory division, and co-founded several agtech funds including Avrio Ventures.

“Sean will add an additional dimension to most of Kirchner Group’s existing services by providing tailored transaction and advisory services for impact investors and their portfolio companies, providing a one-stop resource for impact funds,” managing director and co-head of impact Blair Kirchner told Agri Investor. Although he could not specify projects, he said Holt would make use of his experience as an expert in impact investment and advisory, and sustainable food and agriculture.

Holt is also the founding executive director at the Impact Angel Alliance, a non-profit collective of financial and strategic investors looking to co-invest in impact ventures across North America.

He will remain involved with Grand Basin Capital, which has a mandate to enhance and increase investment in regenerative farms, fisheries, forests and Aboriginal communities across Canada.

The Kirchner Group manages assets for family offices and insurance companies, commercial banks and institutional investors.