Draper Esprit invests in Join Capital, Icebreaker

Draper Esprit said Feb. 26 that it has invested 12 million pounds ($16.8 million) in five funds, including Join Capital in Berlin and Icebreaker in Finland. The firm said it also invested in three other funds based in London, Cambridge and Ireland.

PRESS RELEASE

Draper Esprit (AIM: GROW, ESM: GRW), a leading venture capital firm investing in high growth digital technology businesses today announces two new investments in Europe’s top seed funds: Join Capital in Berlin (http://www.join.capital/) and Icebreaker in Finland (https://icebreaker.vc/). Commitments have also been made to three other funds based in London, Cambridge and Ireland. The total commitment is £12 million across all five funds.

These investments are a continuation of the Company’s Fund of Funds strategy to invest £75 million over a five-year period in Europe’s best seed funds, as announced in October 2017. Alongside previous investments in Seedcamp, Episode1 Ventures, Crowdcube and Seedrs, these investments enable Draper investors to gain access to some of Europe’s highest quality seed funds.

Furthermore, it complements the Company’s core strategy to invest approximately £100 million a year in technology businesses in series A, B and C+ rounds across the Group’s funds and gives the management team further access to high quality deal flow from across Europe.

Commenting on the announcement Simon Cook, Chief Executive said:
“In October last year we announced our intention to invest in seed funds to give investors access to early stage technology businesses through Europe’s top seed funding platforms. This gives them exposure to a very important asset class on a pooled portfolio approach; giving a degree of risk mitigation, with added liquidity and without them having to sift through and pick individual seed funds themselves. It also givesshareholders and investors an opportunity to support European tech from British shores, helping to ensure the UK continues to have a leading role in European venture.”

For more information, or to request interviews or pictures, please use the contact details below. The release is attached.