Venture group Augmentum Capital is to apply for a public listing to raise up to £125 million for a new fund investing in early-stage fintech companies in the UK and wider Europe.
The new company will acquire Augmentum's existing investments in a portfolio of five fintech firms, including Bullion Vault, Seedrs and Zopa.
The fund, which will be managed by Augmentum founders Tim Leven and Richard Matthews and former Amadeus partner Perry Blacher, will strive to give investors access to fast-growing fintech startups offering disruptive technologies in the banking, insurance and asset management sectors.
The management team sees the opportunity to capitalise on the lower valuations of early stage businesses in Europe as compared to the US amid substantial demand for post-seed venture capital funding in the European fintech market. It also expects to meet demand for investment in a sector that can be difficult to gain access to.
RIT, an investment trust backed by Lord Rothschild is expected to contribute £10 million to the fund, with the management team providing £2 million in capital. The company claims to have access to an identified pipeline of assets currently in excess of £100 million.
A prospectus will be published around mid-February 2018 with admission of its Ordinary Shares and trading on the main market of the London Stock Exchange to follow. The net proceeds of the issue are expected to be deployed within the next 12 months.