Felix Capital, led by Frederic Court, has US$120m to invest in European luxury, health and technology start-ups
London-based entrepreneur Frederic Court has established a new US$120m venture capital fund called Felix Capital aimed at start-ups in the digital lifestyle realm.
The oversubscribed fund’s backers include the European Investment Fund, and advisers include Facebook executives David Marcus and Julien Cordorniou, as well as former AOL executive Rene Rechtman and the former managing director of digital commerce at Burberry Sebastian Picardo, to name a few.
Felix Capital will invest in start-ups in the fashion, luxury, beauty and well-being markets.
The company describes itself as a venture firm for the creative class. “We are a venture firm for the creative class, at the intersection of technology and creativity, focused on opportunities in digital lifestyle.”
Frederic Court, founder, Felix Capital
We are a venture firm for the creative class, at the intersection of technology and creativity, focused on opportunities in digital lifestyle
Court has more than 20 years’ experience in technology – first as a banker with Lazard in London and New York, secondly as an internet entrepreneur and thirdly as a venture capitalist with Advent and Felix.
Fellow founders include Les Gabb, who worked with Court at Advent, and Antoine Nussenbaum, previously with AtlasGlobal and ABN Amro.
“While building Felix, the major challenge was to assemble from scratch a group of investors who would buy into our vision and agree to partner with us for the long-term,” Court said.
“We were fortunate to be able to select individuals we liked and institutions that had the potential to be back us fund after fund. We initially aimed to raise $80m, the minimum amount for our strategy, but ultimately closed 50pc higher at the fund’s hard cap of US$120m. We even had demanded in excess of this figure. Our investors are mainly European and US institutions, including pension funds, endowments, foundations, fund of funds, plus some family offices, and a couple of groups with large retail assets, with well-established venture programs.”
Court added: “In addition, Felix also invited individual investors, mainly entrepreneurs with a background in technology and sectors, which are relevant to the business. In the European market, a first-time fund, with oversubscribed commitments, a differentiated thematic strategy and a founder-centric culture stands out and illustrates how the ecosystem is rapidly maturing in the region.”
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, Italy image via Shutterstock
