Growth equity investor Kennet Partners’ has closed a €266m (£225m) fund to invest in “high growth” B2B software businesses.
The ‘Kennet VI’ fund is the London-based investment firm’s largest to date. It includes a €35m (£29m) commitment from British Patient Capital (BPC), a subsidiary of the state-owned British Business Bank.
BPC invested alongside new and existing investors, including the family-owned Edmond de Rothschild Private Equity.
Kennet focuses exclusively on investing in B2B SaaS technology companies that are founder-owned and either capital-efficient or built without external funding.
An investment from Kennet is typically the first external funding these startups receive and is meant to be used to scale and expand internationally.
It has already invested in dozens of businesses and exited several ventures such as Eloomi in January 2024, which is said to have generated a 3.1x cash multiple, as well as Nuxeo, Dext, CrossBorder Solutions, Rimilia, and Impartner.
Now, Kennet plans to use its new financing to invest about €50m of its funds in European startups.
Led by Michael Elias, Javier Rojas, Eric Filipek, and Hillel Zidel, the investment firm has offices in London and the Bay Area.
Christine Hockley, managing director of funds at British Patient Capital, said: “As a specialist in investing in bootstrapped companies, Kennet is able to support companies outside the traditional venture ecosystem. We are excited to continue our relationship with Kennet as they support software businesses in scaling and expanding.”
Michael Elias, managing director at Kennet Partners, said: “At a time when the market has recognized that ‘growth at any cost’ is no longer rational, our long-standing conservative strategy has appealed to investors.
“Kennet’s risk-balanced strategy provides investors with the growth associated with innovative technology while maintaining a low failure rate. We have proven over numerous fund cycles that capital-efficient B2B SaaS businesses offer attractive investment opportunities and that helping entrepreneurs build outstanding management teams and enter global markets remains a winning formula.”