Lyceum spinout Horizon launches £200m fund

Established by former Lyceum management team members, Horizon Capital's new fund is more focused on technology than previous Lyceum vehicles.

The seven-year vehicle held a final close on £200m in early October after six months on the fundraising trail, with Rede Partners acting as placement agent and legal advice provided by Macfarlanes.

The senior leadership of the firm will comprise former Lyceum managing partners Jeremy Hand and Simon Hitchcock, along with partners Luke Kingston, Adam Lewis and Martin Squier. 

The previous firm's £330m Lyceum Capital III fund, a 2013 vintage, held an auction wherein Horizon backers participated in a tender offer to buy stakes from partners who wanted to exit.

Horizon will carry on managing Lyceum's portfolio companies. The team's realised investments while at Lyceum include ERP software provider The Access Group and enterprise hosting provider Adapt.

Lyceum announced in January that it had stopped fundraising for its fourth fund and instead was focusing on raising capital on a deal-by-deal basis with a smaller team.

Lyceum had started raising the fund working with Lazard as a placement agent. According to a source close to the situation, fundraising had proved tougher than expected, and the team ultimately decided to move towards a deal-by-deal funding model.

Investors
Backers in the new fund include Pantheon, Idinvest Partners, Lombard Odier, HQ Capital and EQ Asset Management.

Investments
Horizon will invest equity tickets of £10-50m in UK-headquartered companies. 

People
Horizon Capital – Jeremy Hand, Simon Hitchcock (managing partners). 

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• Topics
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• Buyout
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• Horizon Capital (formerly Lyceum Capital)