Manufacturing & Supply Chain

Shard Capital Partners LLP announcesd on Thursday the launch and first closing of the Suir Valley Venture Fund of Suir Valley Funds ICAV, the first Irish focused venture capital fund in Ireland that uses a regulated fund with a fully regulated Alternative Investment Fund Manager. The Fund invests in early stage software companies in the Financial Technology (FinTech), Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Internet of Things (IoT) sectors. The Fund’s First Close has been funded via commitments of up to €20 million from Enterprise Ireland, the Irish Government Agency, and Shard Capital.

UK-based Shard Capital will be managing the Fund in Ireland by availing of the management passport under the Alternative Investment Fund Manager Directive. Management of the Fund is led by Barry Downes, previously founder of FeedHenry, which was acquired by Red Hat Inc in 2014 and also more recently CEO of TSSG, an international software research institute which has delivered over 120 technology and innovation projects for start-ups over the past three years. The Fund’s Irish operation will be headquartered at the Waterford Institute of Technology’s Research and Innovation Campus in Carriganore, where the TSSG is also based.

Welcoming the announcement, Walter Hobbs, Executive Director, Investment and Finance, Enterprise Ireland said: “Creating a funding ecosystem for start-ups to thrive is of critical importance to the success of our client companies and as part of this mandate we recognise the value of venture capital funding to support high potential growth companies.”