Ulster Bank Diageo Venture Fund holds first close

01 November 2008

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Fund

The Ulster Bank Diageo Venture Fund LP, managed by NCB Ventures, has held its first closing at EUR75m. The fund launched at the beginning of October 2008 and has a final target of EUR100m. It has a lifespan of 10 years with the option of two one-year extensions. NCB Ventures has made an undisclosed GP commitment to the fund. The minimum subscription is EUR5m, further terms and conditions have not been disclosed. William Fry provided legal advice. The fund is supported by the Irish government through the Enterprise Ireland Seed and Venture Capital Programme 2001-2012.

Investors

Corporates, financial institutions, asset managers, pension funds, private investors and stage agencies from Ireland participated in the fund. Enterprise Ireland, Ulster Bank, Diageo Ireland, the National Pensions Reserve Fund, NCB and private clients of NCB are among the investors.

Investments

The Ulster Bank Diageo Venture Fund will invest in early-stage and expansion companies, focussing on growth deals. It will make investments of EUR500,000-5m in companies operating in a range of sectors in Ireland, such as support services, ICT, healthcare, cleantech, industrial automation and medtech. The fund prefers to acquire minority stakes above 10%. It plans to make between four and five investments per year and also considers investing alongside other VCs. NCB Ventures has described its pipeline as healthy and is in advanced talks with a number of companies.

People

Michael Murphy of NCB Ventures is the manager of the fund.

Name: The Ulster Bank Diageo Venture Fund LP

Target: EUR100m

Closed on: EUR75m

Focus: Ireland early-stages, expansion

Address: NCB Ventures, 3 George's Dock, IFSC, Dublin 1, Ireland

Tel: + 353 1 611 5611

Fax: + 353 1 611 5766

Advisers: William Fry (Legal).