Ben Marrel

I couldn’t be prouder to be a Venture Partner at Isomer Capital (aka the best European FoF - at least for me) as we just announced the launch of our pioneering £100m secondaries fund. This fund is dedicated to acquiring stakes from LPs in various VC funds, tapping into a massive and largely unexplored market. 🌟 Key Highlights: - Focused Investment: Primarily targeting stakes in VC funds, with selective investments in private companies. - Robust Funding: Already over 20% funded, thanks to strong support from Nordic family offices and a German foundation. - Market Potential: With a growing number of private tech companies and a VC liquidity crunch, Europe's VC secondaries market is poised for rapid growth. - Track Record: This isn’t Isomer’s first foray into the secondaries market. As a firm we’ve done several secondaries deals with portfolio companies and VC firms, including early-stage VC Seedcamp (in 2021) and mobility giant Bolt (in 2023). - Expert Team: Welcoming the amazing Omolade (Rachel) A., formerly of Coller Capital, as a principal to lead this initiative. 💡 Investment Strategy: - 65-75% of the fund will buy "LP interest" stakes in VC funds. - 15-25% will be directed towards stakes in companies. - Up to 15% reserved for flexible investment opportunities. 📈 Looking Ahead: We're targeting returns of 2-3x, with significant distributions expected in the next 4-7 years. As one of the few players in this space, we're not just participating in the market—we're driving it forward. Read all about it here: https://lnkd.in/dc7sbC3G #VentureCapital #SecondariesFund #EuropeanVC

23

1 Comment

Great insights from Adam Agius on what to consider when raising debt for a search fund buyout. Most relevant to the UK market, but a worthwhile read for all searchers. There's more debt capital keen to support search acquisitions than ever before, but approaching it naively can be very costly...

27

"Funding Collapse sends investment in start-ups to six year low" The Times today covering the shocking stats that VenturePath uncovered, with our partner Beauhurst. Great quotes from supporters Michael Moore CEO, BVCA and Julian David CEO, techUK. * UK VC funding at Series A is -44% from last year, and worsening * Q3 24 is down a staggering 57% from Q2, itself down from Q1 * 9 in 10 seed funded startups cannot access Series A VC funding, the next 'rung on the funding ladder' * Just 32 future scaleup companies across the whole of the UK were able to access their first VC funding round in Q3...a 6 year low * Half a billion less capital is going in to UK scaleups at Series A, than just 2 years ago! As the UK scaleup funding gap widens, we are losing ground against other countries, at both startup stage (a position the UK worked hard to achieve, since 2011), and for scaleup support. OECD data: 13th in the world for scaleup support, and that's before Series A funding access dried up. I get that its confusing. Another report (BBB, Nations & Regions) released this week spoke of positive trends in private investment, stating "The data for Q2 2024 shows that investment value has continued to grow". Great, I love to see optimistic data. But under analysis that bundles venture with private equity (later stage), where a few megadeals skew the numbers. Otherwise the exact opposite is true. Our independent research here, for the UK ScaleUp Investment Mission, is laser beam focussed on Series A. The funding round where companies move from the c.1m startups launched each year, through the 2,179 that access seed funding, into the rarefied category of being recognised as future scaleups, attracting Series A funding (£2-10m). The UK venture landscape is currently funding just 248 pa of these companies, and declining. We've been sharing this urgent call for support with the new Government since the day after the election. I've personally met with several Ministers, and spoke to all the relevant Government departments. I will shamelessly repeat loudly what is at stake. UK scaleup funding at Series A has nearly halved in a year, and continues to decline steeply, more than halving in the last quarter. VenturePath developed The UK ScaleUp Investment Mission to convene the scaleup support ecosystem and £7bn of funders to help address this problem, to improve nationwide access to VC investment, and create more venture-backed successes. We have clear support, clear recommendations to reverse this decline in UK scaleup investment, and have made a clear ask of Government for participation in this, to ensure immediate action is taken to create the conditions for success for UK scaleups, ensuring the focus on growth isn't undermined by lack of capital, or equitable access to it. Government decision makers, we'd love your interest, to progress to action. HM Treasury: Rt Hon Rachel Reeves Spencer Livermore James Murray & CC Poppy Gustafsson (welcome to the debate).

738

195 Comments

London, UK based growth investor Copilot Capital recently launched a fund 💸 $200M fund seeded by an investment division of The Friedkin Group. 💡 Investing up to $40M in European software start-ups looking to scale and help founders drive further growth and profitability, with a specific focus on go-to-market strategy, internationalisation, acquisitions, and data & AI. 🌍 #Europe 📈 Alongside the fund’s launch, Copilot Capital has made its first investment into Danish-based Relesys, an all-in-one employee app for frontline workers in the retail industry. 💭 “There are 60,000 SaaS companies across Europe. Our goal is to identify businesses with market-leading products and proven revenue models and equip them with the capital and expertise to scale into software champions.” - John Messer, Copilot Capital’s co-founder 🗞️by Tech Funding News https://lnkd.in/dSjYtXgY 👏 For the #AudaciousInvestors unleashing innovation and empowering tomorrow🚀 John I Charlie I Charlie I Dave I Alba I Kitarack I Zerxis I Kemar I Zarosh I Hannah I Team Copilot … #growthcapital #pe #funds #startups #entrepreneurs #uk #funding #tech #entrepreneurship #technology #innovation #venture #london

14

🚨 EGYM attracts nearly $200 million in primary funding from L Catterton and Meritech at a valuation of over $1 billion 🚨 I'm excited to announce that EGYM / EGYM | DACH / EGYM Wellpass has recently secured nearly $200 million in primary funding from L Catterton and Meritech Capital, valuing the company at over $1 billion. The fundraise last year with Affinity Partners marked a significant achievement for EGYM: we were profitable, debt-free, and maintained a big chunk of the fundraise in the bank, all while experiencing rapid growth. That meant that we no longer relied on investor funds for survival; instead, we could take the time to focus on building relationships with the best possible investors to support EGYM's mission. Phew 😅 that was quite a relief as a founder, and the next round ended up happening much faster than expected. We are a fitness technology company: In my research, I identified L Catterton as the ideal partner for EGYM on the fitness and health side, given that they are the world's largest fitness investor. For the technology piece, Meritech Capital stood out as the best fit, given its deep understanding of SaaS and its success stories with leading companies like Facebook and Salesforce. Therefore, I started reaching out to both firms with the intent of building a long-term relationship, which has turned into a round of funding. I had the pleasure of meeting Marc Magliacano, a Managing Partner in the L Catterton Flagship Fund, and was impressed by his extensive experience in fitness investing. His deep industry knowledge will be invaluable as he joins our board. On the Meritech side, I was equally impressed by Paul Madera, a co-founder of the firm. His sharp questions and focus on the important elements of our business convinced me that he is the right fit for EGYM. The EGYM team has earned the trust of what I consider to be the best possible investor partners for our mission to get to where we are today, and we are much more capitalized than we were planning. However, this trust now comes with even greater responsibility. Our mission to build the leading global platform at the intersection of fitness and health is not just a business goal but a commitment to driving sustainability into the world's largest market—healthcare. We are 120% dedicated to making it happen and are grateful to our existing investors for their continued support. 👋🏻 Welcome aboard, Marc and Paul. 🚀 Let's go, EGYM team!

1,784

427 Comments

📣 We’ve got a big ESG_VC event planned for Tuesday next week – featuring the latest updates to our measurement framework, news of our 2025 benchmarking with the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA), and an introduction to our new platform partners… 📣 On the afternoon of Tuesday 26 November, we’ll be gathering 200+ VCs for the latest update on the ESG_VC Measurement Framework – from what it covers to how it informs industry-leading research, and how you can now work with our accredited data collection partners. This will be our first event delivered in partnership with our cohort of platform partners: Apiday, Novata, and PortF. I’m excited to share with our members how these partners can support a big step up in your ESG initiatives. Join us for a jam-packed event that will feature: 🟢 An update from Suzi Gillespie of the BVCA on how you can take part in our 2025 research – we analysed ESG performance in c.600 VC-backed companies in 2024 and we’re looking to deliver an even more ambitious piece of research next year… 🟢 Insights from Emily Havers of Fidelity International Strategic Ventures on the updates that have been made to the framework and what it means for our members, their portfolio companies, and the broader ecosystem. 🟢 Perspectives from Emily Matthews of Oxford Science Enterprises and Nina Foote of Volution on how the ESG_VC Measurement Framework has supported their work on ESG. 🟢 Presentations from our platform partners: Edouard Audi of Apiday, Conor O'Laoire’Laoire of Novata, and Alex Lu of PortF. It’s going to be a good one so do register. Link to sign up in the comments! #ESG_VC #sustainability #venturecapital

47

1 Comment

Mikel Ventures 26-Week Wrap-Up for October 2024 This week Mikal Ventures is pleased to bring you our half-yearly breakdown of the global venture capital market with an emphasis on the Mikal verticals. Over the 26-week period ending October 28, just under 16,500 new companies were added. The market grew to 211,248 companies included in the Health Tech, Med Tech, AI Tech, Fin Tech, and Ed Tech verticals. The non-US market again saw the largest percentage of new companies added--the group is trending at an impressive 21% annual growth rate, with all of the non-US verticals projecting double digit growth.  The total projected 52-week deal count has slowed a bit from last quarter and now is estimated at about 14% in US and 20% in non-US verticals. AI continues to dominate. AI Tech again saw the largest projected annual percentage of growth in new companies, weighing in at a notable 31% and 37% in the US and non-US markets, respectively. A global annualized growth rate topping an estimated 34% shows a striking indication of just how active this vertical remains. Worldwide, the 52-week indicated transactions in AI Tech were impressive as well, coming in at about 29%, with the lion’s share resulting from non-US deals (32%). Mikal Ventures publishes these stats on a rolling 4-week, quarterly and annual basis to provide a perspective on how the verticals and new startups move through time. We hope you find them informative and thought-provoking. VC Investors are always adjusting their "Play Book" with a variety of options for investing. Mikal Ventures is one of those alternatives, offering curated solutions to real world problems. Reach out if you have questions on how we can be of assistance and bookmark https://mikalventures.com/ for additional insights and information.

2

🚀 The deadline to apply to our Emerging VC Programme is just 2 weeks away. Earlier this month, we launched a first-its-kind programme for VCs in Europe, consisting of LP matchmaking events across Europe, world-class mentoring from LPs & established VCs, and fundraising workshops. 🎟️ It is completely free, to attract the best fund managers & avoid selection bias.  What’s in it for participating funds? 1️⃣  Warm introductions to Limited Partners 2️⃣  Fundraising templates and resources including LP lists 3️⃣  10+ hours of world-class mentoring 4️⃣  6 days of workshops focused on closing LPs 5️⃣  Strong peer community 6️⃣  Opportunity of an LP community from our network 👉 We are looking to turbocharge your fundraise, not teach you the basics of investing or setting up a fund. It is not an incubator. Mentors include Founding Partners from established VCs who have collectively raised over $11bn over 80 funds, along with a fantastic group of LP mentors across institutional investors and Family Offices. ❓ Should you apply? It's free. All applicants receive fundraising resources including LP investor lists. It's relevant to every Emerging Manager in Europe. It's focused on getting you in front of LPs. ...what's not to like? A special thanks to our partners making the programme possible: Blue Future Partners, HFL, Osborne Clarke, Sage, Ballou, Leela Capital and Johnston Carmichael.

139

7 Comments

#Funding #OtherStuff Daring Capital invests €1.2 million in purpose-led founders in its first year of operation: Daring Capital, a UK impact investor network, has invested €1.2 million in purpose-driven startups during its first year. Launched in August 2023 by Jem Stein, the company has prioritised support for female founders, who received 95% of the capital, and 76% to Black and Racially minoritised founders. The investment aims to back overlooked entrepreneurs building […] The post Daring Capital invests €1.2 million in purpose-led founders in its first year of operation appeared first on EU-Startups.

1

Great interview with one of the best VCs out there. Lot's of good stuff in this article. One point worth highlighting on the eternal debate whether there is enough growth capital in Europe: great companies will always manage to raise money, no matter where they are based.

12

For VI, I will modify a quote by Peter Kreeft to "We live and die; Vodafone Idea Limited died and lived!" The company has resurrected from near-death to walk into the perfect blue sky scenario where a 15-20% tariff hike is imminent across all industry players, pending AGR resolution is a given. Lastly, there is still a massive brand recall with customers who've stood by the company despite being the only telecom with no 5G! VI's stock is bolstered by a solid anchor list of long-term investors, which significantly reduces selling pressure. With a clear 12 rupee bottom, it's not far-fetched to anticipate VI reaching the 18-20 levels in the near future. It is my fundamental belief that a country as large as India needs more than 2 telecos, and #GoI will do all it takes to make this one fit rather than go back to the ventilator! #stock #stockmarket #trading #investing #money #stocks #investment #forex #finance #invest #business #trader #nifty #investor #sharemarket #daytrader #market #sensex #nse #financialfreedom #forextrading #trade #wealth #bse #daytrading #entrepreneur

18

Europe's tech market has some catching up to do. #eu #techmarket #technology #techcompanies #marketvalue #financing #growthcapital #scaleups #commercialisation

4

1 Comment

🚀 For the last 6 months, we've been working on a new programme to accelerate VCs raising their next fund... 🎙️ I am delighted to announce we are now live! Applications are now open to participate in the first programme for emerging VC managers based in Europe, providing fundraising workshops from fundraising experts, LP connections and world-class mentoring. We kick off the first cohort of 15 - 20 VCs in Q1 2025. 🧐 Fundraising is hard. Hard for founders. Even harder for VCs. There is a vacuum of fundraising support for funds, and there's never been a more difficult time to get one off the ground... So what do participating funds receive? 1️⃣ Warm introductions to Limited Partners and Family Offices 2️⃣ Fundraising templates 3️⃣ 10+ hours of world-class mentoring 4️⃣ Content delivered through workshops with a focus on fundraising 5️⃣ Strong peer community 6️⃣ Opportunity of an LP commit from our network Who are the mentors? 👥 VC mentors include founding partners from some of the most successful VCs in Europe such as LocalGlobe, Dawn Capital, Hoxton Ventures, Partech, Heartcore, Speedinvest, and many more. Collectively, they have raised over $11bn across 80 funds 🤯 👥 LP mentors include investors from some of the most active Limited Partners such as the BBB, KfW, Isomer and many more. Who is the programme for? 🚀 Emerging VCs (broadly those raising Funds I - III) based in Europe 💰 We expect applicants to already be exceptional investors, we will focus on making them exceptional fundraisers. How much does it cost? 💰 👉 It's completely free! With no hidden costs. We want to avoid selection bias and level the playing field for under-represented managers What is the time commitment? ⏲️ 👉 Designed to fit a General Partner's busy schedule, participants will attend at least 3 LP networking events, 6 days of high-impact workshops over a 3-month period and receive 10 hours of mentoring. How to apply? 🎯 👉 You can learn more & apply directly from our website 👉 All those applying will receive access to LP investor lists, fundraising templates and exclusive benefits from our partners. How will we select the funds? ⚖️ With the help of Blue Future Partners, our fund selection partner, we will select VCs with a differentiated strategy, a partner team with deep domain experience, and those that we believe will most likely become the next generation of top-tier funds. 🎗️ I researched and dilligenced all the VC service providers I was recommended, to select partners with a track record of supporting the Emerging Manager community. This programme would not have been possible without the support of: HFL as our fund admin partner 📕 Osborne Clarke as our legal partner 📃 Sage as our technology partner 🧑‍💻 Ballou as our PR partner 🎤 Leela Capital Regulatory Solutions as our regulatory partner 𝍍 Johnston Carmichael Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers as our accounting partner 🧾

656

112 Comments

Great to see SIS Ventures make this list by TechRound https://lnkd.in/eDtRbggM A bit more about what we look for below. If you're a founder and these hit the mark 👇 then please get in touch Investment targets SIS Ventures is focused on high-impact, high-growth potential businesses our investee companies are innovation-led, often spun out of Scotland’s leading university innovation programmes. Portfolio companies are also carefully selected for their commitment to developing their environmental, equality and diversity, social impact and governance practices. SIS Ventures seeks to provide equity investment to: ✔ High growth potential with a global scale and intent to provide significant impact ✔ Focus on social and/or environmental impact, aligning with impact themes / at least one of the UN SDGs ✔ Product or service backed by defensible technology or proprietary know-how ✔ EIS or SEIS qualifying ✔ Low capital-intensive businesses ✔ Sector agnostic, but historically invested across Life Sciences, MedTech, Climate Tech, Circular Economy, Biotech ✔ Pre-seed – Series A ✔ Headquartered in Scotland

28

1 Comment

I have expressed incredulity with news stories from the The Information and they have proven me wrong so this report is truly shocking. Bolt was valued in a peak market Series E in early 2022 at over $11 billion by BlackRock then almost fully written down in 2023 (as many seemed to indicate there was limited revenue or a business model) and now the company is raising $450 million of capital from investors in the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom at a $14 billion valuation? What am I missing here? Hopefully earlier investors have sold secondary shares into this round. #valuations #bolt #ecommerce #alternativeassets #privatemarkets #venturecapital #startups #fintech https://lnkd.in/extH76g2

20

I am pleased to see Alitheia IDF (AIF) highlighted by Jessica Espinoza, CEO of 2X Global, at the SuperReturn Emerging Markets 2024 event in Amsterdam! Jessica showcased AIF as an example of how Gender Lens Investing (GLI) strategies drive commercial and social impact. Since closing AIF (a 2X Flagship Fund) at $100M in 2021, we have invested over $50 million in 12 companies, with 75% women ownership. As the first and largest GLI fund in Sub-Saharan Africa, we developed the industry’s first comprehensive GLI toolkit, inspiring broader adoption across private equity. Our commitment to putting women as key success drivers across the investment value chain has become a model for the industry, inspiring others. It’s rewarding to see AIF’s impact and approach recognized as a model for sustainable, inclusive investment in emerging markets. Check out the slides from Jessica’s presentation for more insights: https://lnkd.in/dpGiraPU #GLI #ImpactInvesting #SustainableFinance #AlitheiaIDF #SuperReturn2024

33

Trusted Investors Network #venturecapital 1️⃣ Facilitating co-investment opportunities to fuel the growth of Europe’s next generation of deep-tech champions.   2️⃣ Offering a platform for investors to collaborate, share insight and help drive Europe’s innovation agenda forward.   3️⃣ Building stronger investment communities around critical technologies.

25

Mountside - 400+ VC firms with fresh capital and UK focus https://lnkd.in/eERd3pHS Mountside Ventures keeps track of VC forms that recently raised a fund - they are most likely to be actively investing. The focus is mostly, but not exclusively, UK. ----- ♻️Like, Comment, Share Follow Startup Vencha for more, Stop Thinking & Start Doing.

2