A year after its formal launch, the London Fund has secured over GBP28m of investment for 13 London businesses representing an investment rate in excess of one per month.
The companies include:
• Appear Here – an online service connecting landlord’s vacant spaces to people with ideas
• Boticca – an online marketplace for luxury fashion accessories
• Gousto – a home delivery service
• Somo – the world’s largest independent, full service mobile marketing specialist
• Wool and the Gang – a global fashion brand
• MBA & Company – a service connecting short-term consultancy projects to high quality independent professionals in that field
• Masabi – mobile ticketing and payments for transit
The GBP14m MMC London Fund focuses on early stage London-based businesses that can generate significant levels of economic growth and create jobs.
To date the fund has directly invested GBP5.1m and used this to attract co-investment of GBP23m from the private sector. As a matching fund (with co-investment from other venture capital firms, business angels and other MMC funds) at least GBP28m will actually be invested in the capital as a result. Investments from the fund have directly created well in excess of 100 jobs across the capital.
Bruce Macfarlane, managing partner at MMC Ventures, says: “The MMC London Fund – in association with the Mayor’s office, Funding London, and the European Regional Development Fund – is a great initiative that we are proud to be involved with. To have already channelled investment of over GBP28m into 13 exciting, high-growth businesses since launching in April 2013 is a target-beating achievement, and we look forward to supporting these impressive companies as they continue to grow and take London innovation out to the world.”
