Key Takeaways
- • Fasanara Capital, a London-based asset manager, announced it has won a strategic mandate of approximately $200m from one of Canada's largest pension funds, according to the publisher's report.
- • The new capital will fund lending to the real economy, including invoice receivables, working capital facilities, short-term SME loans and specialty finance products.
- • The mandate follows Fasanara's $350m VC fund launched in mid-2022, which makes equity investments in next-generation fintech and Web3 companies.
- • Fasanara reports $4bn AUM, a portfolio of equity exposures to 29 companies, and an estimated $45bn in total ecosystem lending volume across its group and portfolio companies in 2022.
- • Fasanara cites a record $2.2bn invested by European VCs into crypto and DeFi start-ups in 2021 as evidence of sector momentum.
Summary
The mandate follows Fasanara's $350m VC fund, which launched in mid-2022 and makes equity investments in next-generation global fintech and Web3 companies. The firm says the new funds will help it complement and complete its offering to fintech companies while adding resilience and diversity to its portfolio. Founded in 2011, Fasanara describes itself as Europe's largest lender to fintech platforms and a material liquidity provider in crypto markets. It manages $4bn in AUM and holds equity exposures to 29 start-ups and scaling technology businesses, including Stashfin, Scalapay, Grover and FlexCar. Existing investors include several of Europe's largest pension funds, the European Investment Fund and major European insurers. The firm employs more than 200 people, over 130 of them in its technology team.
Fasanara's CEO, Francesco Filia, said the mandate is "another major milestone" and that the capital will help bolster portfolio companies by giving them access to a range of financial products. The firm estimates total ecosystem lending volumes across its fintech portfolio will reach $45bn in 2022. The firm cites market data showing 750 financing deals for European fintech companies in 2021, totaling nearly EUR 26 billion, and European VCs investing a record $2.2bn in crypto and DeFi start-ups in 2021. Fasanara also notes that two portfolio companies, Scalapay and Grover, recently reached unicorn status, with Grover now valued at over $1 billion after its latest funding round. The Financial Times recently named Fasanara one of the fastest growing companies of 2022.
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