JamJar Investments jams £100 million into new fund

London-based JamJar Investments has announced its second fund topping £100 million. The firm historically makes Seed or Series A investments (below £5 million) in UK and continental Europe startups, with ticket sizes ranging anywhere between £500,000 and £3 million. Moving forward JamJar intends to make approximately 10 investments a year, with 50% of this fund reserved for follow-on options.

Founded in 2012, JamJar is a bit of a cinderella story. Stemming from the runaway success and global uptake of yummy yummy Innocent Drinks, founders Adam Balon, Jon Wright, Richard Reed, and alongside Partner Katie Marraché, launched the first iteration of JamJar bootstrapped. This bootstrapped fund has seen over 85 investments and 11 exits and backed a number of winners including Deliveroo, Babylon, Smol, Oatly, Papier and Wild.

Now entering a new chapter, this second fund for JamJar is the firm’s first institution-backed vehicle. However, staying true to its Innocent roots and commitment to inclusion, while the second fund is cornerstoned by the British Business Bank’s Enterprise Capital Funds (ECF) programme to the tune of £48 million (thereby making JamJar the largest ECF to date), JamJar’s second fund also opened the doors for institutional investors, JamJar’s portfolio founders and external participants, e.g. “the crowd” have a shake at the goods on equal terms.

Via a Seedrs crowdfund, one in which JamJar fronted all the fees, individuals such as vous et moi had the opportunity to invest in the firm. Demonstrating a strong market pull, the initial £1 million allotment saw over 30 portfolio founders take a seat at the table, and the oversubscribed round was capped at a hefty £2.4 million.

Looking over the horizon, JamJar’s Katie Marraché commented, “JamJar is looking forward to helping new category-defining brands win their fight. Consumer consciousness is in our blood and we are proud to be the first fund to absorb all Seedrs fees meaning our crowd has come in on exactly the same terms as larger LPs.”

British Business Bank’s Ken Cooper added, “The British Business Bank’s Enterprise Capital Funds programme is key in helping to develop and maintain effective venture capital provision in the UK, lowering the barriers to entry for emerging fund managers and for those targeting under-served areas of the market.”