Axon ICT I Fund is fully divested in seven years

Axon Partners Group successfully exited the last company in the portfolio of ICT I Fund. The fund achieved a strong overall annual return of 65% and a multiple of 3.5 times on invested capital. This performance positions Axon´s ICT I in the top quartile for 2011 vintage funds in Europe. Companies such as Wuaki, Nice People at Work or Akamon were part of the portfolio and proved to be great examples of Spanish start-up success stories, each achieving exit valuations of over EUR 20m.

The Fund invested in Spanish seed and early companies in the digital sector with an average holding period of 3.4 years. As a result, the Fund had a lifecycle of fewer than 7 years with a write-off ratio of 0%. Although different from what is normally observed among early stage VC funds, this can be viewed as another proof to the current opportunity and maturity of the European VC market.

"When you look at the overall VC industry, you find that many of the funds investing in early stages have loss ratios closer to 40 or 50% and holding periods that extend over the classic 10 year period. Axon's strategy clearly breaks this trend. In our new fund of funds, we see many European funds achieving stellar performance, but even when compared to those, it is clear that ICT I has a place among the best performers not only at a European but also at a global level" said Francisco Velázquez, President of Axon Partners Group.

"At Axon, we have a very rigorous selection process and a very deep level of involvement with our portfolio companies. This allows us to support and accelerate their growth while also allowing us to detect and correct any deviation from the business plan. Our investment philosophy is not focused on the search for "unicorns", but we look for companies with strong teams and disruptive and non-capital intensive business models", remarked Alfonso de León, CEO of Axon Partners Group.

Axon Partners Group is an Alternative Asset Manager, with more than 12 year of track record investing in the technological sector. Currently, the firm has more than € 250m AUM through 3 funds in Europe, one in Latin America and another in India. Since 2018, Axon in also managing a Fund-of-Funds that is currently in fundraising and that will be the first FoF with an exclusive focus on the Pan-European tech opportunity.