Inovia Capital, the Canadian venture capital (VC) firm, has raised a $400 million (£307 million) fund for growth-stage companies.

The VC firm has also raised a fourth early-stage fund of $200 million, bringing its total new funding capacity to $600 million.

Former Google chief financial officer Patrick Pichette will lead the new office in London, which aims to bridge Inovia’s existing core markets of Canada and Silicon Valley with Europe.

Inovia invests in technology companies that are disrupting legacy industries such as financial services, healthcare, logistics and travel.

The Holborn-based office will invest anything between $2 million and $50 million in suitable start-ups.

Pichette told City AM that it decided to launch the growth fund once it realised that although there is a lot of early-stage funding available in Britain, there is not much growth-stage money “relative to the size of the opportunity”.

As to why start-ups might choose Inovia over others in an already crowded tech startup VC marketplace, Pichette cited his hands-on experience at Google.

“Growing companies is both thrilling and harrowing, that is some-thing money can’t buy,” he said. “You have to have the experience.”

He listed Britain’s strong background in intellectual property, research record and universities as “huge advantages” for companies headquartered here.

Inovia manages over $1 billion across five funds including early and growth stages, with offices in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, San Francisco and now London.

It has supported over 80 companies as they raised a combined $2.1 billion, helping them grow from 10 to 10,000 employees.

Chris Arsenault, general partner and co-founder Inovia Capital, said: “We are excited to help build the next generation of respected global companies with a deep ambition to create a lasting, positive impact on humankind.”