US-based Top Tier Capital Partners raises €260M for new dedicated European investment fund

California-based Top Tier Capital Partners (TTCP) announced that it has closed approx €260M in new capital dedicated entirely to Europe with support from UK government-backed BBI as an LP. The firm mentioned that the capital exceeded its target of €250M.

This capital builds on the nearly $1.2B (approx €991.3M) raised for Top Tier Venture Capital IX, Top Tier Venture Velocity Fund 3, and related separate accounts, bringing the total capital committed across the family of funds to $1.5B (approx €1.23B). The firm has been investing in European venture capital since 2005, but this is its first dedicated fund focused on the region. 

Funds for Europe

TTCP believes Europe is an underserved venture market with huge investment opportunities. As an established Silicon Valley firm coming to Europe, managers in the region value TTCP’s experience and expertise. While many of the Valley’s top firms have opened outposts in Europe in recent years, there are still very few dedicated capital pools for European ventures.

With successful past investments such as Accel, Creandum, and Medicxi, TTCP is well-established in the region and is a direct investor in a handful of strategic European companies as well.

David York, MD at Top Tier Capital Partners, says, “The European fund is a strategic part of our global investment strategy and part of the overall maturation of the business from a partner-driven firm to an investment institution. It also represents a larger shift in the market. We’re looking forward to deepening our partnerships in Europe and Israel, which will also help inform our Velocity investing outside of the US.”

Hence, the fresh TTCP Fund will focus almost entirely on European funds and technology startups with some investments in Israel. It will also invest into strategic secondaries and co-investments. One of the Fund’s key limited partners is British Business Investments, who made a €100M commitment to the fund in 2019 strategically aimed at addressing the technology funding gap in the UK. 

Judith Hartley, CEO of British Business Investments, says, “Our first commitment through the Managed Funds Programme, which is designed to increase access to longer-term patient capital for high potential companies, was to TTCP at first close, in 2019. It is great to see the fund reach final close and continue to support some of the UK’s most innovative sectors, including technology and healthcare.”

About Top Tier Capital Partners

Founded in 1999 by David York, TTCP is an investment manager with families of funds focused on primary commitments to venture funds, LP and direct secondaries, and direct investments.

The firm makes primary and secondary investments in venture capital funds and co-invest in select portfolio companies. TTCP claims that its team has experience in deal sourcing, due diligence, performance analysis, legal terms negotiation, investment monitoring, and reporting.

TTCP has invested in more than 350 funds globally and has a database of more than 9500 companies. The company claims that it is well-positioned to offer reliable data-driven insights into the innovative private market. Its vast amount of data gathered over two decades gives TTCP highly reliable pattern recognition, allowing it to triangulate trends and understand GP blind spots. 

The firm’s success shows in its distributions as well – in 2020, its portfolio saw 36 IPOs and returned more than $800M to investors.

Jessica Archibald, MD at Top Tier Capital Partners, says, “TTCP believes strongly in the potential of the European venture capital market. We previously opened an office in London to demonstrate our commitment to the region, and we continue to see high rates of innovation and increasing amounts of overall capital and liquidity.”