New VC launches to boost UK tech entrepreneurs

Enterprise Capital Fund is a £37.5m venture fund comprising public and private money. The vehicle will be managed by Episode 1, a new venture capital fund manager.

The three managing partners are Simon Murdoch, Damien Lane and Adrian Lloyd.

Murdoch is a former managing partner of Octopus Ventures, where he spent two years focusing on portfolio management. He also founded and ran Chase Episode 1, an early-stage European tech fund backed by JP Morgan Chase. The vehicle made a 3x return after fees and carry, and backed firms including BetFair and ScanSafe. He then became an angel investor and has investments in Shazam and Zoopla.

Lane spent almost three years as an investment director on the ventures team at Octopus Investments. He has also worked in the private equity industry at both Electra Partners and Cognetas.

Lloyd was formerly a consultant at management consultancy firm Marakon Associates. He has experience with software start-ups and has invested in the space in the UK on behalf of a Swiss family office.

Investors
Entrepreneurs and high-net-worth individuals have joined the UK government in committing capital to the fund.

Investments
The vehicle will commit £250,000-2m to 20-30 UK-based early-stage companies. A primary focus will be given to software companies in the internet and mobile sectors.

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• Topics
• UK / Ireland
• Venture
• United Kingdom