Molten Ventures plc (LSE:GROW) said its Growth Fund has reached a £175 million first close, including a £75 million cornerstone commitment from the British Business Bank.
Molten has committed the remaining £100 million and plans to seek additional investors as it targets a final fund size of £350 million.
The Growth Fund will focus on Series B and later-stage investments in technology companies in the UK and Europe, providing Molten with additional third-party capital alongside its listed investment platform.
The venture capital firm said it has completed more than 40 growth-stage deals and invested over £700 million through this strategy during the past decade. The new fund will allow private institutional investors to participate through a private fund structure.
Molten said the fund will target businesses operating across sectors including space, artificial intelligence, fintech, quantum technology, deeptech and hardware. It is intended to increase the amount of capital available for Series B and later investment rounds and allow Molten to take larger ownership positions in selected portfolio companies.
The British Business Bank has previously invested in Molten’s listed platform and has been an investor since 2018. It has also co-invested alongside Molten in UK technology companies including SatVu, IMU Biosciences, Thought Machine and Paragraf.
Ben Wilkinson, Chief Executive Officer of Molten Ventures, commented:
“Securing the British Business Bank as cornerstone investor is a strong endorsement of Molten’s strategy and of the relationship we have built over many years. It also underlines the importance of bringing more long-term institutional capital into venture and growth, so that ambitious UK and European technology companies have the backing they need to scale.
“Molten has a strong track record in growth investing, with more than 40 growth-profile deals completed and over £700 million invested. The Growth Fund builds on that experience and gives us a dedicated vehicle to support more companies as they scale.
“There is no shortage of exceptional founders or technology businesses in the UK and Europe; what they too often lack is sufficient growth capital to help them become global leaders. This Fund gives Molten greater firepower to back our highest-conviction companies at Series B and beyond, build meaningful ownership positions and channel capital into the next generation of growth.
“Alongside our other strategies, including Molten Secondaries, the Growth Fund will strengthen our ability to connect long-term capital with companies that are shaping the future.”
Robert Greenwood, Senior Director, Funds at British Business Bank, said:
“To create deeper pools of late-stage capital for breakthrough technologies, we are helping UK tech investors to launch new growth funds. This commitment is the latest example of that strategy. Molten Ventures is one of the UK’s leading growth investors, with a strong track record of backing fast-growing technology businesses. This fund will help the next generation of tech entrepreneurs scale faster and build global companies from the UK.”
Molten Ventures invests in technology companies across the UK and Europe. Since 2016, the group has deployed more than £1 billion of capital and generated more than £800 million in proceeds from investments. It manages more than £2 billion of assets across the group.
Leave a Reply