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DN Capital raises £177m to back early-stage tech firms

DN Capital, an investor in Purplebricks, has raised €200m (£177m) to invest in early-stage technology startups.

The fund will specifically target companies operating in the FinTech and HealthTech spaces. It will also look to back SaaS businesses and consumer mobile apps.

Today’s news comes after DN Capital’s portfolio company Shazam was acquired by Apple; and Auto1 Group received investment from SoftBank’s Vision Fund to the tune of  €460m.

“The UK tech scene continues to thrive despite Brexit – we are very encouraged by what we are seeing. In terms of exits, the UK has been very solid for us with the sale of Shazam to Apple and the IPOs of Purplebricks and Eve Sleep.

“It’s a testament to the vibrancy of the market that we have also been active with new investments in Divido, Hometree and Hostmaker – and will continue to back ambitious entrepreneurs with the background, intellect and grit to take UK-born startups global,” Nenad Marovac, founder and CEO at DN Capital told UKTN.

Geographically, the firm will continue to focus on companies in the UK, Germany, the Nordics and France.

In the US, investments will primarily be made on the West Coast and the Boston-New York corridor.

Marovac went on to explain his and his co-founder’s intentions. “Our guiding principle from day one has been for DN’s two founders to remain actively involved in every investment decision made by the firm.

“We were founded immediately after the tech bubble burst and raised our second fund as the global financial system went into meltdown, so we know what it’s like to be entrepreneurs in the face of adversity.

“We bring that experience to bear in the hands-on way we support the founders in our portfolio by using our combined networks and providing ongoing advice, connections, introductions, partnerships and mentorships – capital is only the start,” he continued.

Co-founder and managing partner Steve Schlenker highlighted the firm’s success to date: “Our first fund, despite being only €47m of capital, was the only European investor in Endeca, one of the most important e-commerce infrastructure software companies of the past 20 years, and the lead investor in Shazam, which is on more than a billion phones worldwide,” he concluded.

Check out our UK tech investment tracker for the latest industry deals.

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