WHEB Ventures, the London based Clean Technology Venture Capital firm, yesterday announced that it is raising one of Europe’s largest specialist cleantech venture capital funds.
WHEB Ventures has achieved a first closing, in excess of its target, at £57 million ($102m, €70m) from investors in WHEB’s first fund and other family offices. There will be further closings over the next 6 to 12 months, involving an increasing proportion of institutional investors and with an ultimate target of £150 million ($267m, €185m).
James McNaught-Davis, Managing Partner of WHEB Ventures, said: “Our aim was to raise over £50 million from family offices and other private investors for the first closing this summer, so we are delighted with what has been achieved, particularly in the current economic climate. We are now raising a second fund much larger than our first, primarily because we are seeing an increasing number of attractive investment opportunities across Europe. We are aiming for a portfolio balanced between early stage ventures and businesses at a more advanced stage of growth. In addition to backing entrepreneurs to license their companies' intellectual property and to sell clean technology equipment, we also like the design-build-own-operate business model in which the business provides products or services using proprietary technology. This often requires project financing using asset-backed leverage. We play an active, value-adding role as non-executive directors of our investee companies. With a new and larger fund, we're able to continue offering entrepreneurs funding and the benefit of our experience, insights and global network of industrial and financial contacts".
WHEB’s first fund of £24 million ($43m, €30m) was raised in 2005 by Founder Partners Kim Heyworth, Rob Wylie and Ben Goldsmith, all of whom remain fully involved in the business. It comprises investments in eight cleantech companies covering a wide range of sectors such as aluminium recycling, energy efficiency, irrigation control and alternatives to pesticides.
McNaught-Davis added: “The success that we have had in raising money from existing and new investors is evidence of my colleagues' work to date. Having raised such significant funds from family offices and with the performance of our first fund to date, we are in a good position to complete our discussions with institutional investors and achieve our overall fund raising objective.” Founding Partner Dr Rob Wylie, said: “During the past 18 months, we have invested in our business in order to build a first class team of investment professionals led by James McNaught-Davis. With his two decades of experience in industry and venture capital, including at Warburg Pincus and Advent, James brings the senior level institutional experience that we require to take WHEB Ventures to the next stage.
We have built our team from the original three Founders, at the closing of our first fund in 2005, to the current team of eight investment professionals and have further plans for expansion”.
Notes to Editors
1. WHEB Ventures was founded in 2002 when Ben Goldsmith teamed up with Rob Wylie and Kim Heyworth to create the first venture capital firm in the UK to focus exclusively on clean technology. WHEB Ventures (www.whebventures.com) raised its first fund of £24 million in May 2005.
2. Cleantech is an investment theme which spans numerous industrial sectors and a diverse range of products, services and processes that greatly reduce or eliminate negative environmental impact, improve the productive and responsible use of natural resources, while providing superior performance at lower cost.
3. WHEB Ventures has completed eight investments to date, of which six are based in Europe, one is in Australia, and one is in the US. These include: RecovCo (www.recovco.com), an aluminium recycling business; AquaSpy (www.aquaspy.com) which has developed a range of sensors, telemetry and software systems for irrigation control; Bowman Power (www.bowmanpower.co.uk) which has developed a turbogenerator to enhance the efficiency of diesel engines; and Exosect (www.exosect.com) which has developed a suite of products that preclude or minimise the need for chemical pesticides in agricultural markets. The firm has four partners.
4. James McNaught-Davis began his career in investment banking with Schroders and Merrill Lynch, before moving on to be responsible for M&A at Misys PLC and then having a decade of partner-level venture capital experience at Warburg Pincus and Advent. He has an MA from Cambridge University and an MBA from Wharton Business School.
5. Dr Rob Wylie spent ten years in Shell’s agrochemical business before gaining twenty years’ experience in the clean technology sector with Rothschilds, KPMG and WHEB. He is an active participant on advisory boards for government and universities. He has an MA and PhD in chemistry from Cambridge University and a post doctorate from Geneva University.
6. Kim Heyworth is an experienced board adviser to both the government and various industry leaders, with over 15 years of cleantech and investment experience working as KPMG’s global chairman of Strategic Services and Environmental Practices. He holds an MA from Trinity College in Dublin.
7. Ben Goldsmith began his career at private client brokerage firm Hargreave- Hale before spending two years as part of a group of private investors backing clean technology businesses at an early stage of their development. In 2002, Ben cofounded WHEB Ventures with Rob and Kim.
8. Other key members of the team include:
Finance Manager: Pam Darchiville, a CIMA qualified accountant with experience in independent private equity funds;
Associate: Mark Preston, a chartered accountant with auditing and corporate finance experience;
Associate: Megan Bingham-Walker, previously Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in the UK.
Associate: Dr Andrew Oldfield, a Cambridge chemist with ten years experience in the Energy and Chemicals industry focused on product development and marketing.
Head of Research: Dr David Owen, former Head of Environmental Equity Research for Paribas, Founding Director of Ecofin, a member of the Advisory board for the Pictet Water Fund and a frequent publisher of articles particularly on the water and waste sectors including the Pinsent Mason Water Year Book.
For more information please contact:
Charlie Methven - New Century Media
+44 (0) 20 7930 8033
charliemethven@newcenturymedia.co.uk
James McNaught-Davis – WHEB Venture Partners LLP
+44 (0)20 7299 4141
james@whebventures.com