H.I.G. Capital, a global private equity firm with more than $8.5bn of equity capital under management, has opened a Madrid office and appointed Jaime Bergel as a managing director to lead its efforts in Spain.

H.I.G., through its H.I.G. Europe affiliate, has a team of over 40 investment professionals based in Europe, operating out of London, Paris, and Hamburg. In 2011, H.I.G. Europe was one of the most active private equity investors in Europe, with 11 completed transactions.

Bergel was previously the founder and CEO of Gala Capital, a Spanish private equity firm he established in 2004, which was named one of the top three Spanish funds in 2007. Prior to that, he was a managing director and head of Spain for both Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch.

Bergelsaid H.I.G. will be flexible in its approach in Spain, providing both debt and equity capital and investing in either majority or minority stakes in well positioned Spanish businesses. He also expects to help Spanish companies with international growth and expansion opportunities in the rest of Europe, as well as the US and Latin America.

H.I.G. Europe has already made a number of investments in Spain, including Saprogal and Bodybell.