London-based LocalGlobe has closed on a $500 million fund and changed its name to Phoenix Court Group. The rebrand centers around the firm’s desire to still focus on seed but have vehicles to be an investor in those startups at all stages.
We spoke with Saul Klein, the firm’s co-founder, on the new fund. Klein, an entrepreneur, investor and the co-founder of Seedcamp, has been actively building the European venture ecosystem for more than 15 years.
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“We’ve got a new name. We’ve got half a billion to invest. We’ve got the two strategies that people know, and we’ve got two that they didn’t know. And we’ve got a foundation,” said Klein.
The firm announced a four-pronged fund strategy.
- LocalGlobe, its pre-seed and seed fund, is the core fund.
- Latitude is the firm’s Series B and C stage fund where it participates but does not lead. About 65% of Latitude’s portfolio will come from its seed fund.
- Solar is a new fund focused on pre-IPO investments and beyond.
- Basecamp is the firm’s fund that invests in first-time seed managers across Europe, Africa and Asia. The firm is already an investor in 52 emerging seed managers through Basecamp.
Solar and Basecamp pre-existed this fund raise. However, Phoenix Court Group has raised institutional funds to invest in these vehicles.
“They’re all separate funds for separate strategies for separate fee structures,” said Klein.
All the funds are complementary to the seed and pre-seed practice. The firm expects 80% of the pipeline for Solar to come from LocalGlobe, Latitude and Basecamp.
Why a rebrand?
LocalGlobe’s rebranding to Phoenix Court Group is a reflection of its ties to the local community. Its headquarters are in Somers Town, within a 5-minute walk of big tech companies Google, Meta and Apple among others. It is also a borough with one of the poorest populations in the U.K.
We find “income inequality, lack of social mobility, all of which is that of cheek by jowl with the future genomics, AI and creative industries,” Klein said.
Additionally, the firm has established Phoenix Court Works Foundation to support the local community with 10% of profit and 2% of carry. To date, it has invested in 23 projects focused on health, education and climate.
Frontier market
The firm’s London location is attractive to technology companies because it’s located within four hours of many metropolitan areas across Europe.
Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, and the other British cities of Bristol, Oxford, Cambridge, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool and Newcastle are all accessible by train.
“We are really excited about the next 18 to 24 months because great companies still need capital,” said Klein. “The pricing is significantly more rational than it was for the last 18 months.”
LocalGlobe, now Phoenix Court Group, is an investor in At-Bay, Hailo, Motorway, TravelPerk and Zego, all new unicorns in 2021.
Illustration: Dom Guzman
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