Swisscanto's new CHF150 million growth fund has made its first investment in GetYourGuide via a secondary transaction. The fund plans to to add further interesting companies to the fund portfolio within this year.
The growth fund of Swisscanto Invest, launched in mid-December 2018 by Zürcher Kantonalbank received capital commitments of CHF 150 million, three months prior to the first closing date. The objective of the fund is to finance unlisted Swiss growth companies in the expansion phase. Target companies include startups with innovative technologies and business models in the areas of information and data services, health as well as environment and energy.
Swisscanto Invest has kicked-off funding activities by making the first investment via a secondary transaction in GetYourGuide, the ETH spin-off offering a B2C market place for travel activities. The company enables users to enrich their holiday experience by booking activities such as city attractions or museum tours using their mobile app or website.
GetYourGuide has seen on steady growth course throughout its existence. With more than 30’000 bookable activities, the company had sold over 20 million tickets through its platform and generated positive user ratings of 4.7/5, by September 2018. To-date, the company has received more than $170 million in investment, employees over 475 people worldwide and has offices in 14 countries worldwide.
Iwan Deplazes, Head of Asset Management for Swisscanto Invest by Zürcher Kantonalbank, comments: “We are delighted that we were able to make such an exciting investment into the globally expanding company GetYourGuide just after our first close. Our strong deal pipeline makes us confident that we will be able to add further interesting companies to the fund portfolio within this year.”
More investments planned
Swisscanto Invest will make further investments as it continues to welcome new investors for subscription. The fund is offered to selected qualified investors (e.g. institutional investors, High-Net-Worth-Individuals, Family Offices) with a long-term investment horizon and suitability for illiquid investments. The fund is currently open to new investors for subscription until it will be closed for further investors (second closing).
(Press release/ran)
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