Holnest is the Lyon-based family office created in 2018 by Jean-Michel Aulas, founder of Cegid and long-time owner of Olympique Lyonnais, and run with Alexandre Aulas and Patrick Bertrand. It succeeds ICMI, the holding Aulas set up in 1983. Holnest invests across three areas – B2B, digital/entertainment/services, and real estate and infrastructure – and states it will back any sector whose development can be accelerated by digital. Its startup arm, Club Holnest, is an investment syndicate of 20 members financing pre-seed, seed and pre-Series A companies with EUR 150k to EUR 500k per project. Around twenty holdings are listed, including Jus Mundi, Cerbair, Dealt, Explain, Beeye and Abelio.
Investment thesis
Holnest is the family office of the Aulas family, investing from Lyon across growth capital in digital B2B and B2B2C companies, early-stage venture through an in-house business angel club, real estate development, and sport and leisure assets including Olympique Lyonnais and the LDLC Arena. Its stated aim is to back entrepreneurs through every phase of a company's development rather than at a single stage.
Holnest writes tickets between €150k and €500k at Pre-seed, Seed, and Series A. Its focus is Consumer tech and SaaS, across France. Sesamers tracks 1 portfolio company across 1 round. Its most recent tracked deal: Reecall, Sep 2026.
Portfolio
Past investments
| Company | Round | Role | Date | Round size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reecall Lyon, France Read the announcement → | - | Participant | Sep 2026 | €3.5M |