HomeFundingHighland Europe launches new €463 million VC fund to invest in growth...

Highland Europe launches new €463 million VC fund to invest in growth stage startups

Highland Europe, Europe’s leading growth stage technology investor, today announces that it has closed its third fund in six years, raising €463 million to boost funding for globally ambitious European software and internet-enabled businesses. Significantly oversubscribed, the fund was raised in just 12 weeks and takes the firm’s assets under management to €1.1 billion.

Highland Europe is based in London and Geneva, and they now have 29 active companies in their portfolio, with combined revenues of €1.1 billion in 2017. Together the firm’s companies employ over 6,500 people and are based primarily in Germany, the UK, and France and more broadly in Finland, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the US.

Over the last 18 months, Highland Europe has sold stakes in the leading luxury fashion retailer MatchesFashion.com, game developer SocialPoint and waste industry software provider AMCS Group, generating more than €2.4 billion worth of enterprise value. Meanwhile, Berlin-based GetYourGuide raised €74 million in a follow-on round at the end of 2017.

Highland Europe Partner and Co-Founder Fergal Mullen commented: “We’re excited to have extra firepower to continue investing in the most exciting tech businesses in Europe. 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.”

Strategically the firm will continue to focus on rapidly growing software and internet-enabled companies that have reached sufficient scale to confirm the validity of their business model. Highland Europe’s core ethos is about surrounding founders with scale-up expertise to create leading international businesses.

Gergal Mullen added: “We are growth-obsessed because it is the most significant driver of value in a company.  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.”

Highland Europe brings three decades of investment experience in the US, China and Europe to the table. From a group of five partners in 2013, Highland Europe’s global platform today includes a team of 12 investment professionals, a network of Executive and Board advisors as well as strategic partnerships with industry-leading service providers – all of which are leveraged by the companies and founders that the firm backs.

Thomas Ohr
Thomas Ohr
Thomas Ohr is the "Editor in Chief" of EU-Startups.com and started the blog in October 2010. He is excited about Europe's future, passionate about new business ideas and lives in Barcelona (Spain).
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