Clear Progress Fund (CGF), a London-based enterprise capital agency specialising in local weather know-how, has secured a €56.8 million first shut for its second fund, concentrating on a complete of £150 million (round €174 million). This recent spherical of capital will allow the agency to proceed backing early-stage UK startups working on the forefront of web zero innovation throughout crucial sectors, together with vitality, mobility and the constructed setting.
The fundraise, introduced right this moment, builds on the success of CGF’s inaugural €117.2 million Fund I launched in 2020. With a deal with impact-led, disciplined funding, Fund I backed 19 startups projected to scale back greater than 55 million tonnes of CO2e by 2030. Standout portfolio corporations embody:
- Sunswap: a zero-emission transport refrigeration to purchasers like Tesco and DFDS.
- Rendesco: a frontrunner in low-carbon ground-source warmth networks with a €116 million challenge pipeline.
- Above: a photo voltaic infrastructure optimisation startup utilizing robotics and AI, which has grown income by 50% CAGR since 2021.
Traders in Fund II embody returning LPs corresponding to Strathclyde Pension Fund, joined by new institutional backers Islington and East Using LGPS. Their participation underlines rising investor alignment with the UK authorities’s Mansion Home Compact, which urges pension funds to channel extra capital into high-growth sectors like local weather innovation and enterprise capital.
Clear Progress Fund’s strategy has received investor favour by combining strong monetary efficiency with excessive local weather affect. The agency is a licensed B Corp with a rating of 133.8, one of many highest within the UK VC sector, and is led by a workforce with in depth expertise throughout local weather science, know-how and finance. The companions have labored collectively for years, enabling deep collaboration and sharp perception into commercialising sustainable innovation.
“Elevating capital on this market isn’t simple, particularly with world political uncertainty affecting local weather coverage momentum. Regardless of this, the UK continues to face out as a hub for local weather innovation – and the robust first shut of Fund II displays the belief our buyers place in our workforce and our mission,” stated Beverley Gower-Jones, Managing Accomplice at Clear Progress Fund.
Fund II will proceed CGF’s technique of investing in early-stage UK corporations with high-emission discount potential. Preliminary ticket sizes will vary from €580k* to €5.8 million*, concentrating on six core verticals: energy and vitality programs, transport and mobility, industrial decarbonisation, buildings and the constructed setting, agrifood and land use, and the round financial system, waste and water.
The fund’s enlargement additionally features a broader nationwide outreach, with CGF deepening engagement throughout UK innovation hubs. A Local weather Tech Roadshow is deliberate in Glasgow on 9 September to attach buyers, founders and ecosystem stakeholders with the agency’s funding workforce.
Investor endorsements additional solidify CGF’s rising stature. “Clear Progress Fund’s mixture of rigorous funding self-discipline, clear local weather affect and a robust deal with delivering business returns made our choice to reinvest simple. The UK wants mission-driven, sector specialists like CGF to steer in web zero supply,” stated Ian Jamison, Funding Supervisor, Strathclyde Pension Fund.
