As the year draws to a close, we’re excited to share a roundup of key highlights from 2024 – a year filled with growth and innovation.
2024 has been a record year for venture debt, as is highlighted in this Sifted article featuring CEGCF III portfolio companies Hivebrite, Quantilope and Zen Educate – and we expect this growth to continue into the year ahead.
Through our funds, we’ve now invested over €1bn, backing more than 180 companies across Europe, allowing their founders and shareholders to scale these businesses while minimising dilution. This year we’ve welcomed several new tech and life sciences business into the funds’ portfolio, including Hivebrite, Neurent Medical, Noda (formerly Infogrid), Quantilope and Territory Studio.
We were thrilled to have been named Venture Debt Provider of the Year at the 10th Anniversary Growth Investor Awards! In addition our team continues to expand – new hires include Joey Mason who has joined as Venture Partner to lead on Life Sciences and drive Claret’s continued growth across the healthcare innovation sector.
Read on for more 2024 news from the Claret funds’ portfolio and the team!
Portfolio Exits
- Endomag is now part of Hologic, Inc., one of the world’s leading champion’s of women’s health. The business was acquired at a valuation of approximately $310 million.
- Treasury Intelligence Solutions (“TIS”), a global leader in cloud-native cash management, liquidity and payment solutions secured majority growth investment from Marlin Equity Partners.
- Anycommerce, a recognised player in digital transformation for retailers in Europe, was acquired by ChapsVision, the French leader in sovereign data processing and retail expertise.
- Leadoo Marketing Technologies and SALESmanago have joined forces to build Europe’s largest Customer Engagement Platform and drive mid-market eCommerce growth.
Strategic Acquisitions and Collaborations in the Portfolio
- Zen Educate, an online marketplace that connects schools with teachers, continues to bolster its resources through acquisitions. As well as announcing its $37 million Series B funding round, Zen Educate made it’s second acquisition with Aquinas Education, as the business continues to expand both in the UK and US.
- Travel tech company, Holidu, acquired Spanish vacation rental portal Clubrural, as well as Ferienwohnungen.de, a portal for booking holiday accommodation in Germany and one of the last largest independent brands in the DACH region.
- Hivebrite, the leading online community management platform, acquired Orbiit, an AI-powered matching company. This strategic move underscores Hivebrite’s commitment to providing its customers with the best technology to build impactful communities.
- Noda (formerly Infogrid) acquired Buildings IOT to strengthen their automated, AI-powered energy offering, aligning with its vision to optimise building operating budgets whilst advancing the industry’s path to decarbonisation.
- Berlin’s Razor Group, an e-commerce aggregator, acquired US based Perch. This acquisition, part of Razor’s broader consolidation strategy in e-commerce aggregation, was backed by a $44 million Series D financing led by Presight Capital.
- Impress, a Barcelona-based orthodontic chain specialising in invisible aligners acquired DrSmile from the Straumann Group. This was followed by the announcement of its latest €110 million funding round.
- Dublin-based digital pathology company, Deciphex, entered into a Collaboration Agreement with Novartis to develop artificial intelligence (AI)-based approaches with potential to transform preclinical pathology assessments in drug discovery and development.
Portfolio Spotlight Videos
We are delighted to have featured some of Claret’s portfolio CEOs and Founders in a series of short videos – they give a brief snapshot of their business, growth journey, and why they chose venture debt and Claret as a partner. Thanks to all those who have featured so far!
Click on the links below to watch just some of the videos!
- Donal O’Shea, CEO of Deciphex
- Eric Mayes, CEO of Endomag
- Ranjan Singh, Co-Founder and CEO of HealthHero
- Nikolai Ensslen, Founder & CEO of Synapticon
Awards: Venture Debt Provider of the Year🏆🎉
We’re proud to have been awarded Venture Debt Provider of the Year at this year’s 10th Anniversary Growth Investor Awards!
This recognition reflects our ongoing mission of supporting technology and life sciences businesses across Europe. As a team we are committed to aligning with the entrepreneurs’ ambitions, fostering their business growth, and making a meaningful difference to the wider economy. Huge thanks to our investors, portfolio, team, and our network who all make this possible!
We were also delighted to have been shortlisted in the 2024 Allstars Awards which shine a spotlight on the founders, innovators and investors reshaping the future of European tech.
Claret’s Network & Events
Images from left to right, first row: Eric Mayes, CEO of Endomag; Nikolai Ensslen, Founder and CEO of Synapticon; and Ranjan Singh, Co-Founder and CEO of HealthHero.
Images from left to right, second row: Drinks reception; Panel with Antony Baker, Principal at Claret Capital Partners; Staffan Mörndal, Partner at Verdane; Dirk Schmuecking, Partner at Yttrium; and Ian Marsh, Partner at DN Capital; and keynote speaker Benedict Evans.
Through Claret’s global support network, we continue to bring together a diverse community of entrepreneurs, investors, business executives, engineers, experts, and others across cultures and borders – this part of our focus on helping our portfolio companies grow and creating European role models for the next generation. We’ve continued to host regular informal gatherings with VCs and investors across Europe, and attended key industry and sector events.
We were delighted to host our Annual Investor Day and our inaugural event for the Cambridge growth-investment community.
Team Growth
We continue to scale our team, and have welcomed seven new additions this year across both the deal and support side of the business. Joey Mason has joined as a Venture Partner to lead on Life Sciences, driving Claret’s continued growth across the healthcare innovation sector. Emma Jones and Chantal Toft joined as Investment Analysts, Amber Warner-Warr and William Mattar as Portfolio Analysts, Kate Allen as Head of Marketing, and Niamh McNeill as Finance Assistant.
Claret Partners with Ukrainian Action
We’re proud to be partnering with Ukrainian Action, a charity dedicated to helping victims of the Ukraine War. Founded by people with a direct network in Ukraine, since March 2022 Ukrainian Action have successfully delivered and donated over 300 vehicles across more than 60 humanitarian aid convoys. These vehicles play a crucial role in distributing humanitarian aid to liberated areas, evacuating civilians from conflict zones, and transporting heroes.
In January several members of the team will embark on a three day, 1,000-mile convoy drive from the UK to Poland, partnering with Ukrainian Action. They’ll be transporting power generators and essential humanitarian and medical aid supplies. If you or your business would like to support us, please kindly do so via this link.