Monzo backer Passion Capital opens doors to retail investors
One of the earliest backers of fintech favourite Monzo is opening its doors to crowd investors with the launch of its third fund.
Passion Capital’s £45m fund will be open to any investors who self-certify as “high net worth” or “sophisticated” and are registered and qualified by the crowdfunding platform Seedrs.
It will give retail investors an opportunity to join a venture fund that has been an early investor in success stories including Monzo, which it backed in 2015, and Gocardless. It is the first time a VC firm has been open to the public through a European crowdfunding platform.
“Investment into a private venture fund is usually reserved for institutions. We are throwing our doors open to a much wider rang eof investors in this unique collaboration with Seedrs as we look to diversify our investor base and increase access for investors who might be interested in partnering with us,” Eileen Burbidge, Passion Capital partner and former Tech Nation chair said.
“This way their single investment will be applied across a range of world-class entrepreneurial talent, rather than through the direct single company investment traditionally made through equity crowdfunding campaigns,” she added.
Passion Capital Fund III has already made 11 new investments, which Seedrs investors will automatically be part of, with the fund targeting a further 15 to 20 new investments.
Appetite for tech investment in the UK has remained resilient in the face of the pandemic. A total of $10.5bn (£7.7bn) of investment was recorded in London last year, a quarter of Europe’s whole VC investment for the year according to research from Dealroom.
The capital is catching up with its global peers, featuring as the second fastest growing global tech hub since 2016 and ranking fifth on the worldwide list for V tech investment over the past five years.