Claret inks €575m for European growth debt
Claret Capital Partners has raised €575m (£493.7m) for its fourth European growth debt fund at final close.
The Claret European Growth Capital Fund IV surpassed the manager’s €500m target and has already started deploying capital, with 32 per cent of the fund invested across 27 venture and growth companies in the technology, life sciences and impact sectors.
Speaking to Alternative Credit Investor on the close of the venture debt fund, David Bateman, managing partner at Claret Capital Partners, said: “Lenders like ourselves just add fuel to the rocket as they [growth companies] are trying to get it to take off.”
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The close of the European growth fund brings Claret’s total capital raised since inception to €1.3bn, with €1.5bn now deployed across 210 companies.
Some of the 27 companies Fund IV has invested in include Billie, a b2b BNPL platform; Cinclus Pharma, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company; Proda, a commercial real estate software company; Inventiva, a clinical-stage biotech; and Surfe, a b2b sales intelligence platform.
Bateman explained that the close of Claret’s fund comes at a time of significant growth in the European venture and growth financing market, with companies in “substantial demand” for capital.
“If you look at where European venture capital money is going, it’s going into dual use [technology], it’s going into artificial intelligence, it’s going into deep tech, and these sectors are more sensitive and behaving differently to four or five years ago,” he said.
“They’re choosing to use our product because it helps reduce the dilution to the early investors.”
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Fund IV attracted commitments from pension plans, insurance companies, family offices and other public and institutional investors, as well as private wealth investors through the use of an ELTIF structure. The fund also benefited from a series of co-investment partnerships, Claret said.
The €575m raised for its fourth fund builds on Claret’s Fund III, which raised €297m at final close in 2022, the firm added.
Speaking on the latest close, Bateman said: “To have raised this amount not only validates our approach and track record but is also a massive vote of confidence for the European technology, life sciences and impact ecosystems.”
Following the final close, Claret stated that it will expand its pan-European platform, with new team members now based in Paris and soon in Berlin.
Bateman told ACI that the firm intends to reinforce its Berlin presence before the end of the year to ensure it has a local presence in Germany.
“Historically, we’ve been London-centric, but there is more evidence of us getting into these local ecosystems and going into some companies earlier.
“The UK is the largest market for venture capital itself, but in European terms, the largest market in regard to the number of companies is Germany.”
