Highland Europe, the prominent growth-stage technology investor, has raised a new €332m tech growth fund, Highland Europe Technology Growth II. This follows Highland Europe’s 2012 €250m Highland Europe Technology Growth I fund that invested in 15 technology companies including WeTransfer, AMCS, GetYourGuide, Outfittery, SocialPoint, Finanzcheck, TalentSoft, eGym, Intersec, NewVoiceMedia, Brandwatch, Matches Fashion, Jampp, LoveCrafts, and Malwarebytes.
Highland Europe’s partners - Fergal Mullen, Laurence Garrett, Irena Goldenberg, Sam Brooks and Tony Zappala - intend to continue investing this second fund with the same laser-focused growth-stage investment strategy: targeting rapidly emerging internet, mobile and software companies. These companies are led by inspiring entrepreneurs who have demonstrated resourcefulness by achieving substantial revenue scale in a relatively short period of time, and on a capital-efficient basis. The companies are always high-growth and have sensible business models from a unit-economics perspective. The partners aim to back sector-leading companies addressing large market opportunities either on a pan-Europe basis or globally.
Fergal Mullen, who joined Highland Capital Partners in the US in 2001 and who launched the firm in Europe in 2007 said, “The new fund was substantially oversubscribed, which reflected support for our focused strategy and early performance of Fund I. We had the pleasure of welcoming back all investors from Fund I - with many substantially increasing their commitments. In addition, we were honoured to welcome a very limited number of sophisticated new investors who have a long-term commitment to our asset-class.”
Laurence Garrett, Highland Europe partner, said, “In Europe, the early-stage investment market is relatively well-funded – but there is a relative under-capitalization of the venture and growth-stage market. In the past, deals requiring investment of €10M - €30M were over-syndicated by European investors prompting many entrepreneurs to seek capital in the US. Highland Europe is simply meeting a market need within the venture capital and growth-capital eco-system.”
About Highland Europe
Launched in 2012, Highland Europe operates from offices in London and Geneva and invests in European growth-stage companies addressing large market opportunities in internet, mobile and software. Investments generally range in size from €10M to €30M. Notable investments of the team members include companies such as CSR, Mathletics and Moleskine.
Highland Europe is one of the few firms that has an established global platform that enables a valuable collaboration with Highland Capital Partners, the independent global venture capital firm from which it was launched. With three decades of investment experience and partners in offices in Boston, Palo Alto and Shanghai, Highland Capital Partners provides substantial reach and global perspective to Highland Europe and the entrepreneurs that it backs. Prior to 2012, the Highland Europe team invested from various Highland Capital Partners funds in European companies such as VistaPrint, Photobox, Privalia, Spartoo, Wooga, and myOptique.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20151014006603/en/
