GP Bullhound closes Fund V on EUR 300m

The fund held a first close in June 2020 on EUR 125m, according to Unquote Data. The fund held subsequent closes on EUR 160m in October and EUR 194m in December that year, followed by another interim close in March 2021 on EUR 257m, according to Unquote Data.

The vehicle had an initial target of EUR 200m, according to a statement.

Cadwalader provided legal advice on the fundraise.

The fund is almost three times the size of its predecessor vehicle, GP Bullhound Fund IV. The 2018-vintage fund held a final close in 2019 on EUR 113m and was 82% deployed as of March 2021, according to Unquote Data.

GP Bullhound said in a statement that Fund IV has more than doubled its value over the past two and a half years, bolstered by IPOs of previous portfolio companies including US-based workplace messaging software Slack.

The firm's strategy has delivered returns of 38.8% IRR since 2007, according to a statement.

In addition to its flagship funds, GP Bullhound registered GP Bullhound Opportunity Fund I in March 2021. The fund invests in selected companies from GP Bullhound's existing portfolio, with 20% of its capital earmarked for early-stage companies and 80% for later-stage deals. The fund will invest 30% of its capital in Europe and 30% in the US.

Investors
A spokesperson for GP Bullhound told Unquote that half the fund's capital comes from around 150 US and European technology entrepreneurs investing their own capital. Institutional investors in the fund include sovereign wealth funds, corporates, foundations and government funds from France, Germany and Singapore. More than half of the fund's commitments are from new investors.

According to a statement, 90% of Fund IV's LPs also committed to Fund V.

LPs in GP Bullhound's predecessor vehicle include the European Investment Fund, which made a EUR 30m commitment. Family offices, entrepreneurs and institutional investors also backed the fund. The vehicle was the GP's first fund to include commitments from institutional investors, Unquote reported at the time of its final close.

Investments
The fund makes investments of EUR 500,000-30m, targeting software-as-a-service, digital media, financial technology and marketplace companies in Europe – where it will invest 30% of its capital – and the US. The vehicle can invest up to EUR 50m per company, the same spokesperson for the GP told Unquote.

The vehicle has made 15 platform deals to date and expects to make around 20 investments in total, according to the spokesperson. The GP has invested in companies including Klarna (first backed in 2013), which was valued at USD 45.6bn following its latest USD 639m funding round in June 2021. It also backed Revolut, which raised USD 800m in July 2021 at a USD 33bn valuation.

People
GP Bullhound – Per Roman (co-founder, head of asset management); Joakim Dal, Ben Prade (partners).

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