Summa Equity raises the largest European impact fund to date

Summa Equity raises the largest European impact fund to date

Summa Equity has announced the closing of its third fund (“Fund III” or “the Fund”), with investor commitments of c. EUR 2.3 billion (c. SEK 23 billion), making Fund III the largest European impact fund raised to date. The Fund was oversubscribed within four months, despite being raised in a fully virtual environment. The capital raised will strengthen Summa Equity’s ability to contribute to solving global challenges through sustainable investing.

With its new fund, Summa Equity now manages aggregated capital commitments of close to EUR 4 billion (c. SEK 40 billion). Summa Equity was established in 2015 with a clear purpose-driven investment strategy and continues to be committed to positively impacting the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Fund III will continue to build on Summa Equity’s proven track record of incorporating the SDG framework in shaping its investment and value creation strategy to drive long-run performance. Like its predecessor funds, it will focus on thematic investments within resource efficiency, changing demographics, and tech-enabled transformation.

The announcement of Fund III comes three years after Fund II (SEK 6.8 billion / €680 million), and five years after Fund I (SEK 4.7 billion / €470 million). The firm manages a further c. SEK 5.4 billion / €540 million in co-investments. The scaling of Fund III allows Summa an extended investment mandate to invest across a more expansive geographical remit and to also invest primary capital in growth companies. To reflect this growth, Summa has expanded its investment team to the DACH region, Benelux, and the US.

Fund III is comprised of a diverse group of existing and new investors including pension funds, insurance companies, foundations and endowments, financial investors and family offices with global representation including Canada, the United States, the Nordics, UK, DACH, France, Benelux, Singapore, Japan and Australia.

To date, Summa Equity has made 22 investments that are advancing the SDGs, including five new investments made in 2021. The portfolio has delivered strong performance to date as measured through financial and operational value drivers and demonstrable impact-oriented and ESG outcomes. Summa is committed to pushing the limits on quantifying positive impact through its collaboration with the Impact Weighted Accounts (IWA) project at Harvard Business School. Moreover, Summa has recently certified as a B Corporation, joining a growing group of companies reinventing business by pursuing purpose as well as profit.

Having partnered with Summa since inception, Rede is proud to have supported the Summa team on a third, highly successful fundraise.