Corporates Philips, Henkel and Axa are among the limited partners that have helped UK-based private equity firm Circularity Capital close a growth fund at its £60m ($76.6m) hard cap.
Electronics and medical equipment provider Philips, chemical and consumer goods producer Henkel and insurance firm Axa’s Axa Investment Management subsidiary were joined by BNP Paribas Fortis, the Belgian arm of banking group BNP Paribas, as well as unnamed family offices.
Founded in 2014, Circularity Capital plans to use the fund, which had an initial target of £50m, to make equity investments in growth-stage Europe-based businesses that address the challenges faced in production and consumption.
The firm has already tapped the vehicle to invest in smart kitchen product developer Winnow and consumer technology subscription service Grover.
Ian Nolan, co-founder of Circularity and chair of its investment committee, said: “We firmly believe that our specialist sector focus and team structure is giving us an edge in identifying, sourcing and adding value to European growth [small and medium-sized enterprises].
“By using the circular economy as a lens to invest enables us to identify opportunities that drive financial value creation in parallel with measurable positive environmental and societal impact.”