【英语财经】中资企业在英国推出高科技基金 Tech start-ups set for ￡500m boost from China

Chinese investors are on the hunt for the UK’s next unicorns — start-ups that reach a $1bn valuation — with the launch of a ￡500m, London-based venture capital fund to invest in European technology companies.

Launched by Cocoon Networks, a Chinese investment firm backed by private equity companies China Equity Group and Hanxin Capital, the UK and China High Tech Fund will seek out businesses that could be successfully imported back home.

It will concentrate on start-ups in the fintech and biotech sectors, as well as those focusing on creative industries.

Start-ups that are keen to move into China will be given additional help in navigating the country’s business laws.

“This is a great opportunity to work together,” said John Zai, founder and chief executive of Cocoon Networks. “The reason why UK and European companies cannot grow to become huge is down to the size of the market. No matter how successful, how good these companies are, they have always had a limit. But imagine if we spread this product, this service, this company to China? It could be 10 — maybe 50 — times bigger.”

The move comes at a time when London’s tech start-ups stand accused of soaking up most of the venture capital funds available in the UK. A report last year noted that during the third quarter of 2015, four ecommerce companies, Deliveroo, the food home delivery company, online furniture retailer MADE.com, Secret Escapes, the holiday deals website, and Prodigy Finance, which provides loans for MBA students, attracted 50 per cent of all London venture capital funds.

The potential impact of the fund, which plans to invest ￡500m over three to seven years, could be substantial. Europe still lags behind the US in terms of available venture capital. According to Invest Europe, which tracks private equity and venture capital investment, in 2014 — the last year for which figures are available — European VC investments rose by 6 per cent to ￠3.6bn. In the UK, the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association reported that VC funds raised ￡288m in 2014 — up from ￡259m the year before.

“Investment from China and other countries is crucial to improving the access to funding and infrastructure that will help these start-ups to scale quickly,” said Gavin Poole, chief executive of Here East, the digital quarter in London’s Olympic Park.

Chinese investors have been increasingly active in the UK in recent years. Last year, Beijing Kunlun Tech Co invested ￡22m into LendInvest, a peer-to-peer mortgage platform. And just last week, Huanxi Media, listed in Hong Kong, announced it was joining forces with Mubi, a UK film streaming company, to launch a similar service into China.

“The Chinese economy is vastly in need of innovation which comes from either competition in the domestic market or from international inspiration,” said Cha Li, founder and managing partner of iStart Ventures, a tech incubator.

“Chinese investors have started exploring opportunities outside of China, in order to grab hold of global cutting-edge technology as well as to diversify their portfolios. In light of this, London serves as the best hub in Europe.”

一支5亿英镑、旨在投资欧洲科技公司的风险投资基金在伦敦成立。中国投资者希望凭借这支基金寻找英国的下一只“独角兽”，也就是估值达10亿美元的创业型企业。

这支“上海伦敦共同科技投资基金”由科控全球(Cocoon Networks)牵头成立，目的是寻找能够成功引进回中国的企业。科控全球是一家中国投资公司，由信中利(China Equity Group)和汉信资本(Hanxin Capital)两家私募股权投资公司投资。

该基金将主要关注金融技术和生物技术领域的创业型企业，以及专注于创意产业的创业型企业。

渴望进入中国的英国创业型企业将获得更多帮助，帮助它们熟悉中国的商业法规。

科控全球创始人兼首席执行官宰承峰(John Zai)表示：“这是共同合作的大好机会。英国和欧洲企业之所以无法发展成大型企业，原因就归结于它们所在市场的规模。无论它们多么成功，多么优秀，始终面临一个无法突破的发展极限。但假设我们能将它们的产品、服务、品牌传播到中国呢？这些公司的规模可能会扩大10倍，甚至50倍。”

此举适逢人们指控伦敦的高科技创业型企业把英国现有的大部分风险投资资金都吸走了。去年一份报告指出，2015年第三季度期间，四家电子商务公司——送餐公司Deliveroo、网上家具零售商MADE.com、旅游闪购网站Secret Escapes、向MBA学生提供贷款的Prodigy Finance——吸引了伦敦所有风险投资资金的50%。

科控全球推出的这支基金计划在未来3到7年投资5亿英镑，其影响可能十分可观。欧洲在可用风险资本规模方面仍落后于美国。根据追踪私募股权和风险投资的Invest Europe的数据，2014年（有数据可查的最近年份）欧洲风险资本投资增长了6%，至36亿欧元。据英国私募股权与风险资本协会(The British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association)报道，2014年风险投资基金在英国募得2.88亿英镑，上一年为2.59亿英镑。

Here East的首席执行官加文?普尔(Gavin Poole)表示：“来自中国和其他国家的投资对改善资金可获得性和基础设施至关重要，这将帮助创业型企业迅速扩张。”Here East是一个科技创新园区，位于伦敦奥林匹克公园。

近年来中国投资者在英国日益活跃。去年北京昆仑万维科技股份有限公司(Kunlun Tech Co)向个人对个人(P2P)抵押贷款平台LendInvest投资2200万英镑。就在上周，在香港上市的欢喜传媒(Huanxi Media)宣布将与英国电影流媒体企业Mubi联手在中国推出电影流媒体服务。

科技孵化器“起点创业营”(iStart Ventures)的创始人兼管理合伙人查立表示：“中国经济极大地需要创新，创新要么诞生于国内市场的竞争之中，要么来自国际上的启发。

“为了抓住全球尖端技术，以及分散投资组合，中国投资者已开始探索中国以外的机会。有鉴于此，伦敦是欧洲最好的投资中心。”

译者/何黎