London’s Fuel Ventures announces £45 million fund for early-stage and pre-seed startups

London-based Fuel Ventures has announced a new £45 million investment fund to be specifically targeted at early-stage and pre-seed startups. The funds will be deployed to more than 60 startups over the next 12 months, and puts Fuel Ventures on par with one of the most active and prolific early-stage investors in the UK.

Founded in 2015 by Mark Pearson, Fuel Ventures has taken in £80 million in capital and typically invests in seed and Series A rounds. The firm’s portfolio companies including OnBuy, Capdesk, OutFund, Heroes, and Moot Group have in turn raised over £180 million in follow-on funding in the last 12 months alone.

The new pre-seed fund will be led by venture associates Alice Azzarelli, Tom Hibbard, and Alex Breeden.

As London begins to come out of a series of lockdowns and open its doors again, Fuel Ventures is doing the same and has announced the opening of a workspace to support its portfolio startups. The pandemic has certainly strengthened our abilities to work remotely, but Fuel Ventures believes there’s no substitute for face-to-face interactions, and wants to welcome founders and their teams to a hub where they can work together, network with investors, and share ideas and suppliers.

“Since we launched our first fund five years ago the country’s tech ecosystem has gone from strength to strength and evolved into an ecosystem that’s the envy of many around the world. Now is not the time to take the foot off the pedal and say job done. We have a responsibility to invest in the future of the UK tech landscape and build on the strong work done so far. This, for us, means making sure we are providing capital for forward-thinking entrepreneurs and their innovative early-stage businesses - even if that means just having an idea or MVP,” concludes founder and managing partner Mark Pearson.