TCV invests €45m in eyewear site Brillen.de

The business intends to use the funding to expand its executive team and launch in new countries beyond its existing markets of Germany, Austria, Spain and the UK.

Following the capital injection, TCV's John Doran and Simon Breakwell will join the supervisory board. Referring to a study by Credit Suisse, Brillen.de claims the size of its market is expected to reach €30bn by 2017.

TCV has invested in a number of successful international startups in the past, including Expedia, Facebook, GoDaddy, Groupon and Vice Media. Its last investment in Europe took place in June last year, when it backed a $526m growth capital round for music streaming service Spotify alongside Baillie Gifford, Lansdowne Partners, Rinkelberg Capital and other investors.

The VC claims that since inception, it has invested $9bn in 200 startups, of which $600m went into European businesses over the past five years.

Company
Founded in 2012, Brillen.de is a spectacles retailer, selling prescription eyewear online. It offers advisory and sales services from 700 affiliated traditional opticians across Germany, Austria, England and Spain. The company is headquartered in Wildau and currently has 100 employees.

People
Technology Crossover Ventures – Simon Breakwell (venture partner).
Brillen.de – Matthias Kamppeter (CEO).

Advisers
Equity – Digital Capital Advisors (corporate finance).

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• Topics
• Expansion
• DACH
• Consumer
• Germany
• Venture