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Johan Kampe of Claret Capital said that despite uncertainty in venture capital funding, the outlook ‘remains positive’ in growth financing.
Claret Capital has raised €297m in funding for growing European start-ups in the technology and life sciences sectors, with contributions from AIB and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF).
The nearly €300m figure significantly overshoots the €250m target that London-based Claret had aimed for with its European Growth Capital Fund III.
Some of the fund’s backers include long-time investors the European Investment Fund, British Business Investments, RAG-Stiftung, Certior Capital and KfW Capital.
New investors AIB and ISIF have together committed €25m to the fund, according to the Irish Independent.
There are already 29 businesses in the Fund III portfolio, with the first investment made in March 2021.
Claret said that along with this final close of growth fund, several co-investment deals offering loans of up to €50m have also been finalised to support start-ups. Together, this will see Claret pump more than €500m of capital into an additional 50 to 60 new companies over the next three years.
Johan Kampe, managing partner at Claret, said that the fund will seek to work with leaderships teams and “disrupt” the industries they work in – ranging from enterprise software and fintech to marketplaces.
“In a market where uncertainty is impacting venture capital funding, the outlook remains positive in growth financing and we’re excited to grow our portfolio business and founders,” he said.
As well as AIB and ISIF, some of the other institutional investors that backed the latest fund and helped it exceed its target include Aozora Bank, Banca March and HNA, as well as some private entrepreneurs and industry experts.
“Closing above target underlines the tremendous opportunity that we have within the wider European tech and life sciences sector,” said Claret Capital managing partner David Bateman.
“We are seeing a strong demand for our capital from Europe’s best entrepreneurs and equity investors. We look forward to supporting the companies in the fund and our new investments as they work to deliver their groundbreaking innovations to market.”
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