VNV announces European growth plans and hires four investors

Wahida Ahmed
28 January 2022

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Sweden-based technology investor VNV Global has announced its European expansion plans and bolstered its investment team.

VNV has been listed on the Swedish stock exchange since 1997.

Speaking to Unquote, VNV managing director Per Brilioth, said: "During 2021 we invested more than USD 200m in 35 companies, and we now get more dealflow. Overall, our portfolio has around 60 names in it, and there was a need to increase the investment team. There were only three members before, and now we have added an additional four to the team. They will be handling dealflow that we get from various sources and will work closely with founders of companies we invest in."

The new members of the investment team are Tessa Wander, Daan Sanders, Dennis Mohammad and Alexander Trofimov.

Wander is an early-stage investment specialist who was formerly at Dutch VC Peak. Prior to this, she was a founding member of FK Labs, a New York marketplace and consumer-focused venture capital firm, and a co-founder of Toko and Hey Frida.

Sanders' expertise lies in marketplaces and global scaling. He was previously a strategist at eBay and co-founded Harvest, a strategy consulting service, in 2009.

Mohammad was previously an associate at Boston Consulting Group. Prior to this, he was a corporate development manager at Voi Technology, which is one of VNV's recent startups.

Trofimov was formerly at Sberbank CIB, and UBS in New York.

VNV has also opened a new office in Amsterdam to reflect its European expansion plans.

VNV does not have a typical fund structure; because it is a listed vehicle, it can commit to capital for years without having to return funds to LPs, said Brilioth. "When we raise capital, we issue shares or we sell and recycle the cash, so then people can get access to our portfolio by trading on the stock exchange. This means we have permanent capital, so are very different to traditional venture capital firms that are limited by time frame."

According to a press release, VNV typically reserves a large proportion of its funding to invest in follow-on rounds of its portfolio companies.

The vehicle's strategy is to target companies that have the potential to develop high barriers to entry and are natural monopolies, said Brilioth. He added that they have a high degree of freedom as they are not restricted by a sector focus or particular geography. The current portfolio is 80% European companies and focuses on four main sectors: mobility, digital health, marketplaces and sustainability. However, the principal factor the VC seeks is network effect.

According to Brilioth, VNV typically holds on to investments for 10 years, but could hold on to companies for much longer. He emphasised that they tend to sell when the founders of the company decide they want to sell.

VNV has the capacity to be a shareholder at an early-stage and Brilioth said they are not tied to one specific round as they can invest in all rounds.

Last year, VNV invested around USD 240m; however, Brilioth said that this year they do not have pressure to invest, but do have the capacity to invest all the money they have raised along the way. He added that they are opportunistic and do what is in the best interest of their shareholders.

Brilioth noted that VNV's largest investment is in Bokadirekt, a Sweden-based administrative service for the beauty industry. He added that it has the potential to develop into a marketplace for those who operate in the beauty industry.

The overall value of VNV's portfolio has increased from USD 585m in early 2019 to USD 1.4bn in 2021, according to a press release. VNV's stated highlights from 2021 include participation in a Series D for electric scooter company Voi Technology, which is preparing for an IPO in 2023; Babylon Health, a UK-based AI-enabled online health service, listed in New York via a special-purpose acquisition company; Swvl, a Dubai-based cab sharing app; and BlaBlaCar, a France-based marketplace for carpooling, which is preparing for a potential IPO in 2023.