The rivers of gold are starting to flow for VC investors.
A wave of secondary sales and M&A deals has led to a bumper year for VC returns, with the big funds now looking likely to have returned upwards of $1 billion to their early investors. All while their best bets remain private.
Paul Bassat’s Square Peg Capital reveals to Street Talk the fund has returned $650 million in cash to its investors on the back of 10 exits. The bulk of these realised returns have been generated in the past 18 months.
AirTree is sitting pretty with an internal rate of return across its five funds of 57 per cent, while Michelle Deaker’s OneVentures has realised and contracted returns of $125 million. A chunk of this was generated recently when it sold 50 per cent of its holding in Employment Hero for 10 times invested capital.
With the likes of Canva, SafetyCulture, Deputy, ROKT, Airwallex and Athena still private companies, there are plenty more returns to be made.
Pre-IPO research conducted by Morgans shows that Step One’s future value will be driven by how it goes in the US, and the success of its push into women’s underwear.
