Private Equity News & Analysis

Pall Mall completes first closing

Cambridge-based Pall Mall Partners has raised E15m for a E50m early stage technology fund.

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UK-based private equity investor Pall Mall Partners has completed the first closing of its first venture capital fund.  The PallMall Technology Ventures fund, based in Cambridge, will specialise in early stage technology.

The fund will be looking to make investments of around E3m in broadband application technology, data security and storage, bio-informatics and biochip technologies, sectors which Pall Mall partner Mark Rayner believes have suffered considerably as a result of a lack of investor confidence.

'The past couple of years have seen a dearth of investment in the tech sector in spite of the fact that many firms have succeeded in separating the wheat from the chaff. The main problem facing tech firms of late is a lack of investment and we intend to fill this gap.'

The fund, which is looking to raise a total of E50m by the second quarter of 2003, will make seed and early-stage investments in firms showing rapid growth potential over the next five to ten years.

Capital commitments to date have come from pension funds and financial institutions. In addition, the firm is hoping to generate interest from fund of fund managers and family trusts in Europe, the Middle East and North America.

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