Berlin, 26 October 2017 – Berlin-based operational VC Project A today announces its agreement with London-based private equity group 3i to invest in Lampenwelt, Europe’s leading online retailer for lighting fixtures.

“With a very strong founder-led management team, significant profitable growth, and ample opportunities to further scale, Lampenwelt has the key ingredients we look for in private equity co-investment opportunities”, says Ben Fischer, Partner at Project A. “Our operational capabilities in scaling and improving digital businesses will help the company to reach its full potential and further strengthen its leading position in Europe.”

With the investment, Project A will contribute its operational capabilities and teams in areas such as digital marketing, business intelligence, product management, and IT.

“Project A’s operational capabilities make it a perfect fit for us, and we look forward to working closely with their team of experts to make our ambitious vision for Lampenwelt a reality,” says Thomas Rebmann, founder and CEO of Lampenwelt.

Lampenwelt started by selling lighting fixtures on eBay and quickly grew to become the European market leader. Today, the company has 300 employees and is present in all core European markets.

For Project A, Lampenwelt is the third private equity co-investment. In March 2016, the operational VC announced their investment in Kfzteile24, Germany’s market leader for car parts and accessories, joining global private equity group EQT. In November 2016, Project A announced the second private equity co-investment. Together with Bregal Unternehmerkapital, Project A invested in Onlineprinters, one of Europe’s leading online printing companies.

About Lampenwelt

Headquartered in Schlitz, Germany, Lampenwelt is Europe’s leading online-specialist for lamps and lights, with over 1.5 million customers. Founded in 2004, Lampenwelt employs around 300 staff and offers some 50,000 products to suit all styles and purposes. The goal of the e-Commerce pioneer is to offer every client their dream lighting solution. As well as quality own-brand products, Lampenwelt offers a wide range of lamps and lighting from top brands such as FLOS, Serienlighting, Luceplan, Tecnolumen or Swarovski. Online shops in 14 European countries form the basis of Lampenwelt’s success, underlined by over 100,000 positive customer evaluations on independent evaluation portals. Lampenwelt’s German store is available at www.lampenwelt.de.

About 3i Group

3i is an investment company with two complementary businesses, Private Equity and Infrastructure, specialising in core investment markets in Northern Europe and North America. 3i’s Private Equity team provides investment solutions for growing companies, backing entrepreneurs and management teams of mid-market companies with an EV typically between €100m – €500m. We back international growth plans, providing access to our network and expertise to accelerate the growth of companies across the consumer, industrials and business and technology services industries. For further information, please visit: www.3i.com.