Former Pomona exec launches venture FoF

Isomer Capital, a new investment firm founded by a former Pomona Capital managing director, has launched its debut fund of funds, which will focus on European technology investments including secondaries.

London-based Isomer is seeking €150 million for its Isomer Capital I fund, according to managing partner and founder Joe Schorge. Isomer will allocate up to 20 percent of the fund to limited partner and direct secondaries.

Isomer Capital I, which has already completed a large secondaries deal, will target secondaries transactions of between €500,000 to €2 million, Schorge said. Isomer’s current portfolio includes food delivery service Deliveroo, cybersecurity firm Darktrace and financial technology firm Algomi.

“In the European early-stage market there is a need for secondaries such as fund secondaries because most of the funds in Europe are backed by high net worth investors or small families,” Schorge told Secondaries Investor. “High net worth investors sign an [limited partnership agreement] for 10 years but their planning horizon doesn’t tend to go out 10 years, so they’re the single most volatile type of LP. There has been and there will be more trading among these early-stage funds.”

The fund has already invested in Hoxton Ventures, White Star Capital and Felix Capital, according to a statement.

Within Europe, the Nordic region and western Europe offer the most attractive technology deals due to start-up firms clustering together in cities such as Berlin and particularly London for financial technology, Schorge said.

“You have a good start-up environment [in London], you have funding, equally important you have all the major global banks and major financial institutions,” he said. “Those are your customers, your acquirers, your partners. In fintech you really need to be close to where the major financial institutions are and I don’t know a better place than London for that.”

Isomer is run by Schorge, a former managing director responsible for business development in Pomona’s London office, and three other professionals, according to its website.