Index Ventures scooped VC Fund of the Year at the 12th Investor Allstars awards in London, beating off competition from Accel Partners, Idinvest, Northzone Ventures and Octopus Investments.
Having raised a new €411 million European-focused fund, Index Ventures, which counts Ben Holmes, Saul Klein and Kevin Johnson as partners, also invested €200 million into 55 companies during the judging period.
In the other hotly-contested categories, Kevin Comolli, partner at Accel Partners, won Investor of the Year for a series of deals including the part-sale of Supercell to Softbank for some $3 billion – a transaction which was itself strong enough to pick up Exit of the Year.
Investor Allstars 2014, organised by GrowthBusiness and GP Bullhound, saw 650 of the continent’s leading investors and entrepreneurs come together following a year of outstanding achievements in the European market.
For the second year running, the Europe’s Allstar Company award was decided earlier in the day by an interactive vote – after detailed company presentations by Achica, BlaBlaCar, Farfetch, NewVoiceMedia and Zound Industries. Paris-based business BlaBlaCar was the eventual winner, capping a year including a $100 million fundraise, reaching 10 million customers and launching in multiple new regions.
The successful IPO of JUST EAT in early April, one of the four billion-dollar exits closed during the last year, saw the online fast food service’s CEO David Buttress awarded Male Entrepreneur of the Year. Female Entrepreneur of the Year went to Sara Murray, founder of Confused.com and more recently location systems business Buddi.
Commenting on the awards, GP Bullhound managing partner Manish Madhvani says, ‘It was a crazy year for Europe with four billion-dollar exits. The entrepreneurial ecosystem is the strongest it has ever been and we are proud to recognise some amazing achievements.’
Vitruvian Partners, whose £1 billion second fund has seen it particularly active during the last 12 months, triumphed in the Growth/Buyout Fund of the Year category, which saw a highly commented mention for Encore Capital.
Equity Gap Fund of the Year was picked up by MMC Ventures after a busy period of new investments, while Octopus Investments was lauded for its impressive venture capital trust activity by being selected VCT of the Year.
Sponsors on the night included headline sponsor Sferiq as well as Orrick, Crowdcube, Bird & Bird, JAG Shaw Baker, Dow Jones, PocketApp, Berenberg, PER, Information Age and Growth Company Investor.
The full list of winners are:
VC Fund of the Year
Winner: Index Ventures
Exit of the Year
Winner: Supercell – Accel Partners, Index Ventures
Growth / Buyout Capital Fund of the Year
Winner: Vitruvian Partners
Investor of the Year
Winner: Kevin Comolli – Accel Partners
Female Entrepreneur of the Year
Winner: Sara Murray – Buddi
Male Entrepreneur of the Year
Winner: David Buttress – JUST EAT
Corporate Development Team of the Year
Winner: ProSiebenSat.1 Megia AG
VCT of the Year
Winner: Octopus Investments
Private Investor Network of the Year
Winner: Envestors
Europe’s Allstar Company of the Year
Winner: BlaBlaCar
Service Provider of the Year
Winner: Silicon Valley Bank
Equity Gap Fund of the Year
Winner: MMC Ventures
Sferiq Award for Digital Innovation in Art
Winner: ArtStack
