Unquote

Blossom closes Fund II on $185m

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Blossom Capital has held a final close for Blossom Capital Fund II on $185m.

The amount raised represents an increase of $100m on the fund's predecessor, which closed on $85m in February 2018. The fund has eight investments and is expected to have made 12 once it is fully deployed. Portfolio companies include UK-based Duffel, Swiss company Frontify and Ireland-based Tines.

The management, carry and hurdle rates are in accordance with market standards. No placement agent was used.

Investors
The fund saw 20-40 LPs participate in the fundraise, mainly from Europe and the US. Blossom partner Imran Ghory told Unquote: "We wanted to increase our US LP base for this fund." The fund has some private investors, including Vladimir Tenev, the co-founder of share-trading platform Robinhood.

Blossom has a minimum commitment size that varies on investor type. Ghory said the GP commitment was in line with industry standards.

Investments
Blossom raised a further $100m in this vehicle to accommodate funding rounds that have grown larger since its predecessor closed. It will make 20 investments and expects to close five deals a year.

The firm's focus is on leading series-A rounds, though it also makes seed investments and writes typical equity cheques of $5-15m.

Blossom Capital Fund I is expected to be fully deployed in the next few months, at which point the firm will begin deploying the second-generation fund.

People
Blossom Capital – Ophelia Brown (founder); Imran Ghory (partner).

Venture's vim

Venture in 2019 proved resilient to political uncertainty, particularly in the late-stage venture sector. Other UK-based venture funds that held successful closes in the past year include 83 North V – which held its final close on $300m – GP Bullhound Fund IV and IQ Capital III. Funds currently raising include Amadeus IV Early Stage, Atomico V and Index Seed Fund.

Venture firms have also made a strong start to 2020 with several firms holding closes across Europe. To date, Felix Capital closed its third-generation fund on $300m, while France-base debut venture fund Jeito held a first close on €200m. Dutch venture capital firm SET Ventures also closed its SET Fund III on €100m.

The venture secondaries market has also seen some activity in 2020, with the close of Greenspring Associates' VC secondaries fund on $800m. The transacted value of venture secondaries amounted to $5.67bn in 2018, compared with the $47.4bn in buyout secondaries, according to Campbell Lutyens.

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