Claret Capital Partners has announced the final close of Claret European Growth Capital Fund IV at £500 million, surpassing its original target of £450 million. The total comprises £380 million of Fund IV commitments and £120 million of affiliated discretionary mandates, and will back growth companies across technology, life sciences and impact sectors in Europe.
Capital is directed at businesses seeking flexible, low-dilution funding to grow through strategies including international expansion, strategic acquisitions and product innovation. Claret describes itself as Europe's largest independent growth debt fund manager.
Deployment is already under way, with 32% of Fund IV capital committed across 27 companies. Backed businesses include Billie, a B2B BNPL platform; Cinclus Pharma, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company; PRODA, a commercial real estate software business; Inventiva, a clinical-stage biotech; SIS Medical, a Swiss medtech; Surfe, a B2B sales-intelligence platform; and VIOTAS, which provides smart grid technology and energy flexibility services.
Commitments came from an institutional investor base including pension plans, insurance companies, family offices and other public and institutional investors, alongside private wealth investors through an ELTIF structure. The fund is also supported by a series of discretionary co-investment partnerships intended to provide additional capacity for larger opportunities.
Total capital raised since inception now stands at £1.1 billion, with more than £1.3 billion deployed across over 210 companies, reflecting capital recycled across successive fund vintages. Fund III held its final close at £255 million in 2022, and exits from that vintage include Cytora, acquired by Applied Systems; Endomag, acquired by Hologic, Inc.; Logpoint, acquired by Summa Equity; Lyst, acquired by ZOZO, Inc.; and Tiqets, acquired by Expedia, as well as the NASDAQ IPO of Abivax. Following the close, the pan-European platform will be expanded with increased local presence across the continent's key innovation hubs, including new team members now based in Paris and, soon, in Berlin.
We are thrilled to announce the final closing of Fund IV which significantly surpassed our original expectations and would like to thank our LPs and co-investors for continuing to place their unwavering trust in our ability to find Europe's leading founders. To have raised this amount not only validates our approach and track record but is also a massive vote of confidence for the European technology, life sciences and impact ecosystems. With a growing pipeline of high quality opportunities, the team is actively deploying capital and continuing to look for great entrepreneurs building the next generation of European champions.
It continues to be a true privilege to support the founders and entrepreneurs who are driving real innovation across Europe at a monumental time for both business and society. As equity markets remain more selective and founders look for ways to grow without unnecessary dilution, we expect demand for flexible, non-dilutive capital to keep accelerating, and Fund IV positions us to meet that demand at scale.
