The Capital Behind Venture: 2020
Insights from the investors behind Europe's Venture Capital ecosystem
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The Objective
The aim of this initiative is to collect useful sentiment, opinion and information from Limited Partners (Fund of Funds, Family Offices, Endowments, Pension Funds, Government Funds and Corporates) about investing in European venture funds and present it in a clear and helpful format.
The information sought falls broadly into three categories:
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the current appetite among LPs for making commitments into European VC funds;
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what LPs are currently looking for; and
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useful and practical information for VCs around terms and structures.
This report provides a unique behind-the-scenes analysis, highlighting the maturing venture capital ecosystem in the UK and Europe across all stages from seed to growth. A worthwhile read for any aspiring fund manager!
Europe is home to world-leading technology thought leaders, supported by a strong science and developed innovation ecosystem, enabling the growth in category leaders in groundbreaking technologies.
Kerry Baldwin, Vice Chair, BVCA
The Results
Despite COVID and BREXIT, this remains a very exciting - albeit challenging - time for the European technology venture capital ecosystem.
For fund managers and investors alike, there is very little information in the public domain on best practice, preferred terms and practical advice on raising a VC fund. We hope that this report is a first step towards making the ecosystem more transparent, shedding some light on the mechanics of this exciting and growing sector.
We would like to thank all our survey respondents and distribution partners without whom this report would not have been possible.
The report can now be downloaded here.
Overview of participants
Many Limited Partners and Family offices were based in America, and are interested in what Europe has to offer.
The majority of respondents were located across Europe.
Respondents also included those based in South East Asia and the Middle East.
Types of LPs surveyed
Fund of funds
Family offices and HNW
Corporates and Pensions
Government
Endowment
Other VC funds
Shared data & published their name
Shared data
Declined to participate
23
40
35
All respondents were offered anonymity. Many LPs and Family offices continue to remain private
The Collaborators
Produced by
Mountside Ventures seeks to optimise the fundraising process for European startups, investors & family offices. Firstly, they advise early-stage companies raising their next round of funding. Secondly, they organise community events and a conference, Funding Venture, in Central London, for the most promising VC Fund Managers, and Limited Partners & Family offices. It typically involving panel discussions, curated round tables and networking opportunities for like minded-investors.
ALLOCATE is a grassroots initiative with a vision to accelerate the European tech VC ecosystem to be the most active and best performing in the world. They are making it easier for LPs to find the right funds to invest in and for VCs the right investors, by building a community of forwarding thinking collaborators on a not-for-profit basis. In 2019, ALLOCATE held Europe's first ever VC pitch event, their next event will be held on November 17-18-19 2020.