Atempo Growth launches debt fund with $200m raise to tap into European tech
Growth debt platform Atempo Growth has announced the launch of its debut fund in London with commitments of over $200m (£147m) as it eyes up high-growth European tech firms.
The new fund, backed by Santander and the European Investment Bank, will be controlled by co-founders Luca Colciago, Jack Diamond and Matteo Avramov Giulivi and will target technology firms from Series A through to IPO stage.
Co-founder Luca Colciago told City A.M.: “Over the last decade, the European tech ecosystem has gone from strength to strength, and growth debt has played an important role.
“Tech companies are increasingly adopting this source of funding to complement equity. Our pan-European team is well positioned to support high growth companies, with over 30 years combined experience in the space.”
Atempo, an entirely new venture debt platform, said it had seen the venture debt market expand in size by six to eight times between 2015 and 2020.
Colciago said the opportunity in the market had been demonstrated by the investor interest in the first oversubscribed round, and the firm planned to use this as a “launch pad” to a second raise later this year.
He added: “We are looking to finalise a second close in the first half of this year to enable us to reach more pipeline companies and build our portfolio.
“We want to be investing across sectors, technologies, and geographies within Europe, with a fund and team that is agile to market shifts and able to support our customers regardless of external factors.”