14th march. Axon Partners Group successfully exited the last company in the portfolio of its ICT I Fund, marking the conclusion of the fund’s lifecycle.The fund achieved a strong overall annual return of 65% and a multiple of 3.5 times on invested capital. This performance positions Axon’s ICT I in the top quartile of the 2011 vintage funds in Europe. Companies such as Wuaki, Nice People at Work or Akamon were part of the portfolio and proved to be great examples of Spanish start-up success stories, each achieving exit valuations of over € 20m.
ICT I was primarily focused on investing in seed and early stage companies within the digital sector in Spain. A remarkably low average holding period of 3.4 years allowed the Fund to be fully divested in under 7 years. On top of that, the Fund had an unusual write-off ratio of 0%.
Both the low holding period and the 0% write-off ratio highly differ from what is normally observed in the early stage VC industry and are a clear proof of the current opportunity and maturity of the European VC market.
“When looking at the overall VC industry, it is usual to observe that the average loss ratio of early-stage funds stands at around 40-50%, and that holding periods are typically longer. Axon’s performance clearly breaks this stereotype. Through our Fund-of-Funds strategy, we have gained a deep insight into the European VC market, and we definitely see that the overall performance is improving. ICT I is certainly a top quartile performer not only at European, but also at global level” said Francisco Velázquez, President of Axon Partners Group.
“At Axon, we have a very rigorous selection process and deep level of involvement with our portfolio companies. This allows us to support and accelerate their growth while being able to detect and correct any deviation from the business plan. Our investment philosophy is not focused on the search for “unicorns”, but for companies backed by strong teams and disruptive, non-capital intensive business models”, remarked Alfonso de León, CEO of Axon Partners Group.
Axon Partners Group is an Alternative Asset Manager, with more than 12 years of track record investing in the technological sector. Currently, the firm has more than € 250m AUM across 3 funds in Europe, one in Latin America and another in India. In 2018, Axon launched Aurora Fund-of-Funds, which is the first FoF with an exclusive focus on the Pan-European tech opportunity.
