PROfounders holds £20m first close of VC fund

01 September 2009

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Fund

London-based PROfounders Capital has held a first close of its inaugural VC fund at £20m. The fund, which is structured as a 10+3 years Bermuda LP, has a target of £50m and an investment period of five years. The minimum subscription for the fund is £250,000, but the managers will use their own discretion.

Investors

The cornerstone investors in the fund are Michael Birch, the founder of Bebo and Birthday Alarm; Brent Hoberman, the founder of Lastminute.com and Mydeco; Peter Dubens, the founder of Oakley Capital and Freedom4 Group; Jonathan Goodwin, the founder of LongAcre Partners and now global head of media at Jefferies Bank; and Rogan Angelini-Hurll. The fund is seeking to include other high-net-worth entrepreneurs, based mostly in the US and Europe.

Investments

The vehicle will invest anywhere between £500,000-£2.5m in early-stage ventures in the digital media and technology sectors, with a focus on European companies. PROfounders intends to invest in 20-25 companies over the five-year investment period, averaging approximately 4-5 transactions per year. The fund is planning to make its first investment in Tweetdeck, a personal browser that connects users with their contacts across Twitter and Facebook. PROfounders is open to co-investments.

People

Partners Sean Seton-Rogers and Rogan Angelini-Hurll will manage the fund from PROfounders' office in London. Seton-Rogers and Angelini-Hurll hope to grow the team to five investment professionals.

Name: PROfounders Capital

Target: £50m

First close: £20m

July 2009

Focus: Venture, digital media and technology

Contact: Rogan Angelini-Hurll

Address: PROfounders Capital, The Economist Building, 25 St James's Street, London SW1A 1HA, UK.