Highland Europe, a European growth-stage venture capital firm, has closed its third fund at €463 million ($540 million).
The company, which claims offices in London and Geneva, officially launched in 2012, and it went on to raise around €577 million ($673 million) across two funds. According to a statement issued by the company, it took just 12 weeks to raise its “significantly oversubscribed” latest fund.
Highland Europe currently counts 29 “active” companies in its portfolio, and focuses on growth-stage startups across the software and internet spectrum.
“We’re excited to have extra firepower to continue investing in the most exciting tech businesses in Europe,” said Highland Europe cofounder and partner Fergal Mullen. “At the same time, we’re consciously staying nimble and remain focused on helping the entrepreneurs we back scale-up internationally and achieve their ambitions. It takes more than capital and determination to build billion dollar businesses — and that’s what Highland Europe is all about.”
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Highland Europe’s new fund comes hot on the heels of a number of other fresh European funds, including DN Capital, which recently announced a $247 million fund for early-stage startups in Europe and the U.S.; U.K.-based Kindred Capital, which closed its inaugural fund at around $112 million; and Seedcamp — often referred to as the Y Combinator of Europe — which closed its fourth fund at $81 million. Elsewhere, U.K.-based IQ Capital today announced a £125 million ($165 million) to invest in early-stage “deeptech” startups in the U.K.
Highland Europe stands apart from these other funds, however, as it doesn’t focus on early-stage capital, choosing to invest between €10 million ($11 million) and €30 million ($35 million) in startups. This is an area of funding that is still perhaps lacking a little in Europe compared to Silicon Valley.
“We are growth-obsessed because it is the most significant driver of value in a company,” added Mullen. “Scaling the team and the organization presents serious challenges, and therefore we prioritize recruitment of management and Board talent above all other value creation initiatives and work closely with founders to fashion changes that benefit everyone.”
