Par Equity and Praetura Ventures have completed their merger to create PXN Group.
Billed as the fastest-growing venture and investment firm outside of London and the South East, PXN has secured Financial Conduct Authority approval and set itself the target to unlock £1 billion in funding for high growth companies across the North of the UK by 2030.
This would see investment into promising Northern businesses boosted by 50%.
Edinburgh-founded Par Equity and Manchester-founded Praetura Ventures, now PXN Group, aim to invest at least £300 million into the ecosystem while leveraging its strong co-investment network to attract approximately £700 million in additional capital from VCs, corporates, and development banks across the UK, Europe and the US.
With 115 active portfolio companies, PXN Group wants to double its portfolio in the next four years by making a significant number of new investments.
The launch of PXN Group seeks to address a persistent investment gap between the North and the South. London continues to receive 60% of UK venture capital, while the North receives just 10%. This is despite the North having 50% more identified potential scale-ups than London and its startups producing over seven times in enterprise value for every pound of VC invested, ahead of London’s five.
The North of the UK represents a £1 trillion GDP – which would be the eighth largest economy in Europe if independent. It is home to almost half of all Russell Group universities and boasts exceptional productivity growth. Yet the equity gap persists.
While progress has been made, the scale of the opportunity still requires coordination and capital deployment at a much greater scale.
“The data is clear: the North delivers exceptional returns, is home to more scale-ups, and represents enormous untapped potential,” said Dave Foreman, CEO of PXN Group and founder of Praetura Ventures.
“The VC community is missing out on the Northern opportunity and we want to change that. Our commitment to unlock £1 billion by 2030 isn’t just about writing cheques. It’s about being the catalyst that makes the North impossible for global investors to ignore and channelling significantly more capital into the region’s next generation of founders.
“We will be measuring ourselves against the region’s start-up and scale-up success, not just our own.”
The firm will operate from offices in Manchester, Edinburgh, Yorkshire and London.
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