Tag Archives: Skyscanner

European VC fundraising reaches highest level since 2007

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Fundraising in Europe is on the up because of its experienced fund managers, developed ecosystem to carry and VC-backed success stories.

fundraisingEuropean venture capital fundraising last year hit €6.4 billion — the highest level since 2007, according to a report from Invest Europe.

Nearly 10% of this capital was from North American institutional investors as Europe’s growing economies, thriving investment ecosystem and the unprecedented rise of its tech industry make it an attractive investment destination, reveals The Acceleration Point: Why Now is the Time for European Venture Capital.

Europe represents the world’s largest single market, with GDP growth of 1.8% at the end of last year according to the European Commission. All economies are seeing growth, boosted by the corporate sector, increasing investments and job creation.

Invest Europe’s data shows VC fund sizes are rising, with 13 funds raising in excess of €100 million last year. This is set to be boosted further this year thanks to a new €400 million European Union-backed fund-of-funds to facilitate more investment from large institutional investors.

“Anyone who has ever played Angry Birds or searched for flights via Skyscanner is benefiting from Europe’s highly talented entrepreneurs — not to mention the fintech and life sciences start-ups leading the way in their sectors. Backed by Europe’s experienced VC fund managers, these companies can rival the best in the world for returns to investors,” said Nenad Marovac, Managing Partner of VC firm DN Capital.

Of the €4.3 billion total venture capital investment in Europe last year, fund managers invested 44% into companies specialising in information and communications technology. The second highest amount, 27%, went to biotech and healthcare.

Businesses in this sector have a strong track record in Europe, such as Switzerland’s Actelion and Denmark’s Genab with their marketed cardiovascular and cancer products. The remaining capital was invested into companies focused on energy, financial services, consumer products and business services, according to Invest Europe data.

Venture capital-backed companies created in Europe include the Swedish music service Spotify, the UK’s travel comparison site Skyscanner, Denmark’s customer service software maker ZenDesk, Germany’s online sales platform Auto 1 Group, France’s car sharing service Bla Bla Car and Finland’s gaming pioneers Rovio, King and SuperCell.

To download a FREE copy of The Acceleration Point report, visit Invest Europe’s website.

Brent Hoberman launches a new $60 million seed fund

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Brent Hoberman AND his partner Spencer Crawley will be backing the next wave of emerging European technology talent.

HobermanDespite the lower-case name and its obvious allusion to Hoberman’s Lastminute.com venture, Firstminute capital, the new fund he has co-founded with Spencer Crawley, is a welcome addition to European seed funds.

The fund has announced a first close of $60 million with London-based global VC Atomico as a cornerstone investor and 2​4​ other founders of billion dollar technology businesses. It will look to invest between $250-$750K in early stage technology businesses across Europe.

Among its investor base, firstminute capital includes the co-founders of global successes such as Skype, Supercell, Betfair, Trulia, Zoopla, lastminute.com, King.com, Tradex Technologies, Skyscanner, BlaBlaCar, Fox Kids Europe, Autonomy, Net-a-Porter, Capital One Bank and many more.

This roll call is supported by a number of strategic global family offices, who will play an active role supporting firstminute’s portfolio companies as they expand globally. This is rounded off by a cluster of current or former CEOs and chairpeople of major businesses, across both technology and traditional industries.

“We will invest not just in the UK, but across Europe. We were aiming to raise $60 million for our first fund and to have achieved that with oversubscription before our final close is a strong signal for European technology. We believe the fund represents an unparalleled wealth of expertise to deliver on this promise,” said Hoberman.

Hoberman has a long history of supporting entrepreneurship across Europe, from his co-founding of lastminute.com (operational across 14 countries), Founders Forum and Founders Factory, to scaling MADE.COM to six countries in Europe as founding Chairman. He has also advised UK government on entrepreneurship and co-founded technology businesses that have raised over $500 millon cumulatively.

And let us not forget Spencer Crawley as co-founder and Head of Investments at firstminute capital. He was previously in the Business Development team at AppDirect (backed by Peter Thiel’s Mithril Capital, latest valuation $1bn+) was Investment Associate at DMC Partners and Analyst in the Moscow office of Goldman Sachs. He also speaks fluent Russian.