Britse startup-ikonen lanceren nieuw fonds

Well it appeared to be signed and sealed when news leaked back in April that two icons of the UK's tech startup world were joining forces to create a new fund to address the so-called equity gap in Europe. But it gradually emerged that the actual name of the project would change and there were no real details, not even a web site to explain how it would work. But tonight at The Europas Awards in London, Brent Hoberman and Michael Birch announced the launch of the fund they've set up together: PROfounders Capital. It's understood that Michael Birch, who exited from Bebo when it sold to AOL last year for $850m, is the prime investor, however, they hope to double the founder-lead 30m fund over the next few months.

Leading the fund will be Michael Birch, the founder of Bebo and BirthdayAlarm, Brent Hoberman, the founder of Lastminute and Mydeco, Peter Dubens, the founder of Oakley Capital and Freedom4 Group, and Jonathan Goodwin, the founder of LongAcre Partners.