European Venture Capital Review
FIRST QUARTER 2019 Table of Contents
Europe’s Venture Capital Market in Q1 2019 3 € Invested and # Companies Financed 5 Top Venture Capital Rounds 7 Europe by Stage 8 Top Venture Capital Investors 9 Investment by Company Location 10 Investor Type & Nationality 13 European Dealmaking Abroad 15 Investment by Company Sector 16 Venture Capital Funds Raised 18 Venture Capital Backed Exits 19 Venture Capital Returns 20 Explanatory Notes & Contacts 21
2 European Venture Capital Market Activity in Q1 2019
European VC Market Trends
European venture capital funding was off to a superb start in 2019, with €5.1 billion invested across 339 rounds of financing during the first three months of the year. In dollar terms, this marked the strongest first quarter ever recorded, and investment sums were up 76% year-over-year. However, despite the continued strength in funding values, volumes were down 4% year-over-year, resulting in the slowest Q1 since 2008. Similar to VC markets overseas, more dollars invested across fewer rounds has continued to be the trend in recent periods as an increasing amount of companies are receiving financings later in their lifecycle. A total of 78 later stage rounds accounted for 23% of all deals during the first quarter, a portion higher than any annual share ever recorded.
Leading the Top Rounds list for the quarter was the €1.1 billion funding round into OneWeb, a London-based communications company with plans to provide global internet connectivity in the form of a 650-satellite constellation system. The round was led by SoftBank with support by Qualcomm and Grupo Salinas. Other top deals during the period included digital banking platform N26’s €260 million investment by Insight Venture Partners, GIC, Allianz X, and Earlybird Venture Capital, as well as online healthcare booking platform Doctolib, which secured a €150 million investment by an investor group including General Atlantic, Accel, Bpifrance, Eurazeo, and Kernel.
The two most active investment firms during the quarter were both based in Paris. These were Bpifrance with 17 investments and Idinvest Partners with 12. Other firms with 10 or more investment during the three months included London-based Balderton Capital with 11 and Bonn-based High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) with 10.
European VC Investment Abroad
European investment into non-European companies reached new heights in Q1 2019, with local funds investing €5.9 billion across 223 rounds. This immense outlay was mainly thanks to the London-headquartered SoftBank Vision Fund, which dominated the Top Dealmaking Abroad list, participating in four of the five top rounds in the period. SoftBank alone invested €3.8 billion across 9 deals, including a €1.3 billion investment into China-based car selling marketplace Chehaoduo, as well as another €1.3 billion into Singapore ride-sharing platform, Grab.
European VC Fundraising Trends
European venture capital funds raised a total of €1.7 billion across 17 fundraises during the quarter, a sum that hovers right around the quarterly average over the last half a decade. Largely responsible for the bulk of this figure was Kreos Capital, which raised €700m for the launch of its largest ever growth debt fund, Kreos Capital VI.
3 European Venture Capital Market Activity in Q1 2019
European VC Trends by Region
Companies based within the UK received €2.1 billion of VC investment between January and March, a 194% increase from the same period a year ago. This sudden jump in value mostly comes as a result of the top deal in the quarter, OneWeb, which made up more than half of the regional total. Volumes in the UK were also up year-over-year, with 123 rounds representing a 5% increase. Companies based within London made up 72 of these rounds, or a 59% share of the nation’s total volume.
France ranked second during the quarter, with 86 rounds completed during the period. This was down 12% from Q1 2018, however total round values of €1.1 billion were up 63%. Companies based in Paris were involved in 31 of those, or 36% of the national volume.
Rounding out the top three, Germany saw deal volumes of 43 which were down 17%, with values of €744 million up 44%. Berlin’s 21 deals represented a 49% share of the total.
European VC Trends by Sector
Driving the bulk of the increase in investment values, European IT companies raised €4.3 billion across 254 rounds during the quarter, up 105% from Q1 2018 and just 4% shy of the total investment made during the entire first half of 2018.
Life Science and other healthcare-related companies received just €490 million of financing during Q1 across 38 rounds, representing a 10% share of all dollar flows during the period, down from their 19% in Q1 2018 and 22% in Q1 2017.
European Fund Performance
As overall investment activity continued to reach new heights, the performance of European venture capital funds improved alongside it. Published data provided by Cambridge Associates shows European venture capital funds with vintage years of 2000 or greater returned a since inception IRR of 7.4% as of the end of Q4 2018, up from a since- inception IRR of only 2.7% back in 2013. These latest figures still lag slightly their U.S. VC counterparts, however European funds show a much wider performance margin separating them and their public market equivalents.
4 Historical Investment in European Companies: Venture Capital Round Values European companies raised €5.1 billion of venture capital funding during the first three months of 2019, an increase of 76% year-over-year, and marking the strongest first quarter ever recorded.
€ 20 €18.7 € 18
€ 16 €15.8
€ 14 €13.5 €12.3
Billions) € 12
€11.3 € €10.1 € 10
€8.1 € 8 €6.8 €6.2 € 6 €5.1 €5.1 €5.0 €5.1 €4.7 €4.7 €4.9 €4.8 €4.7
€ 4 €3.8 €3.6 VC Deal Values ( Values Deal VC
€ 2
€ 0 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
5 Historical Investment in European Companies: Venture Capital Deal Volumes Despite the record-breaking deal values in the period, a total of only 339 venture capital deals were completed in the first quarter. This was down 4% from Q1 2018 and marked the slowest start to a year since 2008.
3,500
3,016 3,000
2,620 2,565 2,500 2,424 2,416
2,354
2,000 1,785 1,684 1,604 1,636 1,583 1,594 1,504 1,500 1,441 1,435 1,345 1,382 1,385
1,236 # of VC Deals VC of #
1,000
500 339
0 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
6 Top European Venture Capital Deals First Quarter 2019
Portfolio Company Investors Deal Value Rank Company Name Location Sector Investing Firms (Disclosed) (€ Millions) London, United 1 OneWeb Ltd €1,102.7 Satellite Internet SoftBank Investment Advisers, Qualcomm Technologies, Grupo Salinas Kingdom
2 N26 €259.9 Berlin, Germany Financial Technology Insight Venture Partners, GIC, Allianz X, Earlybird Venture Capital
3 Doctolib €150.0 Paris, France Healthcare Booking General Atlantic, Accel, Bpifrance, Eurazeo, Kernel
4 FRIDAY €114.0 Berlin, Germany Insurance Technology SevenVentures, German Media Pool, Baloise Group
Astanor Ventures, Bpifrance, Talis Capital, Idinvest Partners, Finasucre, Compagnie du Bois Sauvage, Happiness Capital, 5 Ÿnsect €110.0 Évry, France Insect Farming Caisse d'Epargne Hauts-de-France, Crédit Agricole Brie Picardie, Demeter, Picardie Investissement, Quadia, Finasucre, French Strategic Investment Plan, Vis Vires New Protein Ventures
6 Raisin €100.5 Berlin, Germany Deposit Marketplace Index Ventures, Ribbit Capital, Thrive Capital, PayPal
Collibra €87.5 CapitalG, Battery Ventures, Dawn Capital, ICONIQ Capital, Index 7 Brussels, Belgium Governance Software Ventures Stockholm, 8 MatHem €85.7 Online Grocery Retailer Kinnevik Sweden London, United 9 Starling Bank €85.5 Digital Banking Merian Global Investors Kingdom Zurich, 10 Wefox Group €73.7 Insurance Technology CreditEase Switzerland
7 Venture Capital Deal Volumes by Stage There were 118 expansion stage deals in Q1 2019 which represented a 35% share of overall deal volumes, up from a 31% share seen throughout all twelve months of 2018 and a portion higher than any annual share since 2007.
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
# of VC Deals VC of # 30%
20%
10%
0% 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Q1 2019 Seed Early Stage Expansion Later Stage
8 Most Active Venture Capital Investors in European Companies First Quarter 2019
Estimated Investment Rank Firm Name # of Rounds Location (€ Millions)
1 Bpifrance 17 €62.1 Paris, France
2 Idinvest Partners 12 €72.3 Paris, France
3 Balderton Capital 11 €55.7 London, United Kingdom
4 High-Tech Gründerfonds 10 €5.2 Bonn, Germany
5 Index Ventures 9 €114.6 London, United Kingdom
6 Kima Ventures 8 €16.5 Paris, France
7 Mercia Fund Managers 8 €9.2 Henley-in-Arden, United Kingdom
8 Accel 7 €62.3 Palo Alto, United States
9 Earlybird Venture Capital 6 €60.7 Berlin, Germany
10 LocalGlobe 6 €18.8 London, United Kingdom
9 European Venture Capital Investment by Region Western Europe secured 89% of all VC funding and 86% of all deals in the first three months of 2019. Southern European companies received 4% of total funding during the period, down from 10% in Q1 2018.
12 2
221 21 354 24
Western Europe
€5.1 Billion Northern Europe 339 Deals Invested
Southern Europe
Eastern Europe
4,545 292
10 European Venture Capital Rankings, by Nation
European Rankings – First Quarter 2019
Round Values Round Values # of Deals # of Deals Rank Nation % Change (€ Millions) (€ Millions) % Change Q1 2019 Q1 2018 Q1 2019 Q1 2018 1 United Kingdom 123 117 5.1% 2,068.4 702.8 194.3% 2 France 86 98 -12.2% 1,063.7 652.3 63.1% 3 Germany 43 52 -17.3% 744.3 532.0 39.9% 4 Switzerland 13 11 18.2% 276.4 141.7 95.0% 5 Sweden 10 8 25.0% 221.9 60.8 265.0% 6 Belgium 7 10 -30.0% 131.9 132.3 -0.3% 7 Spain 10 7 42.9% 131.7 198.9 -33.8% 8 Denmark 6 8 -25.0% 85.4 86.4 -1.2% 9 Italy 6 2 200.0% 85.1 14.1 504.9% 10 Netherlands 8 9 -11.1% 83.9 26.6 215.0% 11 Ireland 8 10 -20.0% 82.1 141.2 -41.9% 12 Luxembourg 1 0 - 55.0 0.0 - 13 Austria 3 1 200.0% 38.9 2.0 1,846.6% 14 Norway 2 2 - 20.2 21.6 -6.5% 15 Iceland 2 1 100.0% 18.2 17.1 6.3%
11 European Venture Capital Rankings, by City
European Rankings – First Quarter 2019
# of Year-Over-Year Round Values Year-Over-Year Rank Metro Region Rounds Change in # of Rounds (€ Millions) Change in € Invested
1 London 72 28.6% 1762.7 522.0% 2 Paris 31 -41.5% 803.9 108.2% 3 Berlin 21 -27.6% 598.0 34.8% 4 Cambridge 9 125.0% 116.2 391.9% 5 Munich 9 28.6% 74.9 186.3% Berlin Avg. London Avg. 6 Stockholm 8 33.3% 217.1 839.6% €42.7 Million €28.4 Million 7 Barcelona 6 - 108.0 205.1% 8 Dublin 4 -33.3% 28.8 -77.3% Paris Avg. 9 Bristol 4 - 16.2 - €29.8 Million 10 Manchester 4 -33.3% 4.4 -17.9% 11 Edinburgh 3 50.0% 5.0 248.9% 12 Zurich 2 -50.0% 123.8 1,498.7% 13 Copenhagen 2 -71.4% 78.6 -1.3% 14 Milano 2 100.0% 49.0 1,105.5% 15 Galway 2 100.0% 31.0 931.9% 12 Venture Capital Investment by Origin of Capital Corporate VC funds were responsible for 28% of total investment in Q1 2019, up from a share of 13% throughout the entirety of 2018. Foreign funds supplied 47% of all equity from during the quarter, a share not seen since 2000.
100% 100%
90% 90%
80% 80%
70% 70%
Billions) Billions)
€ € ( ( 60% 60%
50% 50%
40% 40%
30% 30%
VC Deal Values Values Deal VC Values Deal VC
20% 20%
10% 10%
0% 0% 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Q1 2019 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Q1 2019 Private Independent Corporate Bank Related Europe Americas Asia Other Angels & Individuals Government Other 13 Venture Capital to European Companies from Non-European Investors Investment by United States-based funds accounted for 26% of all VC investment in European companies, the highest share of any nation including those within Europe. Other non-European investors accounted for 21% of all activity.
U.S.: €1,288M Japan: €385M Israel: €24M Mexico: €375M China: €62M Hong Kong: €51M
Singapore: €78M
14 European Dealmaking Abroad European funds invested €5.9 billion in 223 non-European companies during the first three months of the year, more than triple the amount invested the same period a year ago.
Portfolio Company Investors
Round Value Rank Company Name Location Sector European Investors (Disclosed) (€ Millions)
1 Grab Holdings €3,981 Singapore Ride Sharing SoftBank Vision Fund
2 Guazi (Chehaoduo) €1,319 Beijing, China Used Car Marketplace SoftBank Vision Fund San Francisco, United Freight & Brokerage 3 Flexport €882 SoftBank Vision Fund, Mail.Ru Group States Technology Mountain View, United 4 Nuro €834 Self-Driving Vehicles SoftBank Vision Fund States Palo Alta, United 5 Aurora Innovation €467 Self-Driving Vehicles Index Ventures States
€ 7
€ 6 € 5
€ 4
Billions)
€ € 3 (
VC VC Deal Values € 2 € 1 € 0 Q1'15 Q2'15 Q3'15 Q4'15 Q1'16 Q2'16 Q3'16 Q4'16 Q1'17 Q2'17 Q3'17 Q4'17 Q1'18 Q2'18 Q3'18 Q4'18 Q1'19
15 Venture Capital by Sector IT investment grew 105% year-over-year with €4.3 billion of financings during Q1, representing an 84% share of all VC. This was up from the 66% seen throughout the twelve months of 2018 and 68% seen in 2017.
All Sectors Information Technology 6.0 5.0
5.0 4.0
Billions) 4.0
€
( 3.0
3.0
2.0 2.0
VC Deal Values Values Deal VC 1.0 1.0
0.0 0.0
Information Technology Life Sciences Other Sectors Computer Software Internet Specific Other IT Sectors
16 Venture Capital by Sector Life sciences companies received €490 million throughout the first three months of the year, down 13% from Q1 2018 and the weakest quarter since Q2 2017.
Life Sciences Other Sectors 1.4 1.4
1.2 1.2
1.0 1.0
Billions)
€ ( 0.8 0.8
0.6 0.6
0.4 0.4 VC Deal Values Values Deal VC
0.2 0.2
0.0 0.0
Biotechnology Medical Health Cleantech Consumer Related Energy & Industrial Other
17 European Venture Capital Fundraising A total of €1.7 billion was raised by 17 European VC funds in Q1 2019. The largest contributor to this figure was the €700m launch of Kreos Capital’s latest growth debt fund, Kreos Capital VI.
€ 3,500
€ 3,000 € 2,876 ) € 2,748 € 2,581 € 2,587
€ 2,500 € 2,401
Millions
€ € 2,144
( € 2,080 € 2,000 € 1,790 € 1,795 € 1,681
Raised Raised € 1,509 € 1,500 € 1,430 € 1,453 € 1,178 € 1,078 € 964
€ 1,000
VC Funds Funds VC
€ 500 € 353
€ 0 Q1'15 Q2'15 Q3'15 Q4'15 Q1'16 Q2'16 Q3'16 Q4'16 Q1'17 Q2'17 Q3'17 Q4'17 Q1'18 Q2'18 Q3'18 Q4'18 Q1'19
18 European VC Backed Exits, First Quarter 2019 European VC-backed company exit volumes continued to trend downwards, with just 20 completed exits during the first three months of 2019.
Portfolio Company Investors
Deal Value Rank Company Name Location Sector Investing Firms (Disclosed) (€ Millions)
Alternative 1 eFront €1,149.1 Paris, France Bridgepoint Investments Software
Saint Petersburg, TPG Group, European Bank for Reconstruction 2 Lenta €532.6 Food Retailer Russia and Development
3 Citoxlab €450.3 Évreux, France Preclinical Services -
80
60
40
20 # of Exits of #
0 Q1'15 Q2'15 Q3'15 Q4'15 Q1'16 Q2'16 Q3'16 Q4'16 Q1'17 Q2'17 Q3'17 Q4'17 Q1'18 Q2'18 Q3'18 Q4'18 Q1'19 Trade Sale Secondary Sale Public Exit
19 Cambridge Associates: Venture Capital Fund Performance European private independent funds continued their trend of increasing performance in 2018. While returns still lagged slightly behind those of U.S. VC funds, they showed greater outperformance of local public markets.
9% 9%
8.0% 8% 8% 7.4% 7% 7%
6% 6%
5% 5%
4% 4%
3% 3%
2% 2%
1% 1%
0% 0% Q4 2013 Q4 2014 Q4 2015 Q4 2016 Q4 2017 Q4 2018 Q4 2013 Q4 2014 Q4 2015 Q4 2016 Q4 2017 Q4 2018 European Venture Capital Funds mPME: MSCI Europe Index U.S. Venture Capital Funds mPME: S&P 500 Index
Source: Cambridge Associates 20 Explanatory Notes
1. Data collected and analyzed by Refinitiv for this statistical report were drawn from a variety of sources including Refinitiv M&A databases, regulatory filings, press releases, and proprietary reports from European and non-resident venture capital firms, private equity firms, law firms, and other service providers.
2. The Refinitiv European venture capital report measures cash for equity and quasi-equity investments by the professional venture capital community in emerging companies in Europe.
3. The report includes the investment activity of professional venture capital firms, whether European-based or not, including private independent funds, venture arms of corporations, institutions, government funds, angel funds, and similar entities whose primary activity is financial investing. Where there are additional participants such as angels, corporations, governments, or company officers in a qualified and verified financing round, the entire amount of the round is included.
4. The report excludes venture debt, buyouts, recapitalizations, secondary purchases, IPO exits, and other forms of private equity that do not involve cash such as services-in-kind. Investments in capital pool companies (CPCs & JCPs) are not eligible. Companies whose primary activity is the extraction of natural resources (agriculture, forestry, mining, and oil & gas exploration) without a specific focus on technology are not eligible.
5. Rounds are tracked based on investment headquarter location.
6. Rankings of top VC investors include only investment activity made in European portfolio companies. Estimated investment activity is based on the actual syndicate breakdown, where available, and is split equally among disclosed investors where actual breakdowns are not available. Rankings capture the three-month period from January 1st, 2019 to March 31st, 2019.
7. Fund performance data and public market equivalents are produced via the Cambridge Associates Benchmark Calculator, available through Refinitiv Eikon. Returns are for European and U.S. venture capital funds with vintage years of 2000 or greater, on a first cash flow basis, in Euros, from inception to the end of the indicated quarter, under published data mode Q4 2018. Pooled internal rates of return are net of fees, expenses and carried interest. CA Modified Public Market Equivalent (mPME) replicates private investment performance under public market conditions. The public index’s shares are purchased and sold according to the private fund cash flow schedule, with distributions calculated in the same proportion as the private fund, and mPME NAV is a function of mPME cash flows and public index returns. 8. All current and previous years data is as of Tuesday, May 7th, 2019. Data is continuously updated and is therefore subject to change. All figures are in Euros unless otherwise noted.
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