London-based Lightrock is a global private equity platform that invests in sustainable businesses committed to innovation for systemic change at scale. In a recent development, the firm announced that it has closed its ‘Lightrock Growth Fund I’ at $900M (approx €759M), with investments from LGT and its private clients.
“Investing in solutions to global challenges”
Lightrock backs purpose-driven entrepreneurs tackling the world’s biggest challenges. It invests in companies that pursue scalable and technology-driven business models around the key impact themes ‘people’, ‘planet’, and ‘productivity’.
Specific investment sectors within these themes include education, healthcare, access to finance, mobility, transportation, renewables and circular economy transition. These investments across themes and sectors contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
With over 60 investments already, Lightrock claims to have one of the largest impact-focused growth portfolios in Europe, Latin America, and India. And recently, it has also started investments across Sub-Saharan Africa.
The Fund has already invested in 26 companies
The ‘Lightrock Growth Fund I’ will offer growth capital to startups/businesses who fall under its key impact themes. It will participate in their Series B or C round of funding in the regions including Europe, Latin America, and India,
With LGT as its anchor investor, the fund has already invested into 26 companies, including five unicorns, across these regions and themes. The portfolio includes Infarm – an urban farming business from Germany providing modular vertical farms that can be placed in grocery stores and retail distribution centres; German sustainable aviation company Lilium; PharmEasy, an e-pharmacy company in India; and Creditas, a fintech company in Latin America.
The fund’s most recent investments include digital insurer wefox; graph database platform Neo4j; and a follow-on investment in MedTech company CMR Surgical, where Lightrock is invested since 2016.
Lightrock has a diverse team of over 50 private equity professionals – 40 per cent of whom are female – from more than 13 different countries and across four continents. The firm operates as an independent company and is affiliated with the Princely Family of Liechtenstein and LGT.
Investors in the current Fund round
The Lightrock Growth Fund I saw participation from investors, including LGT Private Banking clients, who have invested through the Lightrock Evergreen Fund, and LGT Group Foundation.
The Lightrock Evergreen Fund was launched by LGT Private Banking and claims to have witnessed a five-fold oversubscription of the initial target size (the Fund is closed for new subscriptions).
LGT is an international private banking and asset management group with $272B in assets under management from private and institutional clients.
Pal Erik Sjatil, CEO and Global Managing Partner of Lightrock, says, “Our global investment focus at the intersection of impact, growth and tech proves appealing to a lot of investors, as the success of the Lightrock Growth Fund I demonstrates. Building on our long-term partnership with LGT and the commitment of the Princely Family of Liechtenstein to entrepreneurship and positive impact, we look forward to backing more purpose-driven founders and their teams in scaling their businesses.”
