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Austrian Lead Equities holds final close at E49m on debut fund

Austrian Lead Equities I, the late-stage investor, has reached its final closing at E49m. The firm has exceeded its E40m target with the help of cornerstone investors Deutsche Asset Management and ACTIVEST.

‘It's a strong sign of confidence in our investment approach and the developing Austrian market,' a spokesperson said, adding that ‘whilst fundraising was challenging, especially for a first time fund, our industrial and managerial network clearly set us apart from the competition and proved a strong selling point to investors.'

Lead Equities has also announced that it has entered into a cooperation with AUCTUS, the Munich-based fund manger, in order to provide both firms' portfolio companies with easier access to new markets.

‘Our cooperation will enable us to mutually benefit from local intelligence on potential deal opportunities and will allow investee companies to draw from additional operating leverage,' said Lead Equities founding partner Stephan Zochling.

The Austrian private equity market is still in its infancy. A recent EVCA report benchmarking European tax and legal environments considered Austria, along with Denmark, to have the least favourable conditions for private equity and venture capital activity.

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