Highland Europe

Highland Europe was launched in 2012 as a separate, independent firm when partners Fergal Mullen and Laurence Garrett raised a dedicated €463 million fund exclusively for European growth-stage technology investments. It shares a name lineage with Boston-based Highland Capital Partners but operates with a fully independent investment committee, separate limited-partner base, and distinct fund vehicles. The two firms are not structurally linked.

The firm targets growth-stage companies with proven business models, typically deploying between €10 million and €70 million per investment as the first institutional capital in a company's growth phase. Highland Europe does not invest in seed or early-stage venture rounds. It enters when companies have reached meaningful revenue traction, with reported minimums around €10 million in annual recurring revenue.

No. The firm's mandate is exclusively technology and software-focused, spanning enterprise software, fintech, cybersecurity, digital health, mobility and energy-transition technology. It has not invested in consumer brands, hard tech, or biotechnology outside the software enablement layer.

The firm invests across Europe — including the UK, Ireland, Germany, France, Switzerland, and the Nordics — and occasionally Israel. It does not invest in North American or Asian companies. Its London office covers the UK, Ireland and the Nordics, while the Geneva office handles continental Europe.

The firm's companies are positioned at the stage where US crossover investors, strategics, and large-scale private equity funds begin looking for mature European technology assets. Historical exits have included trade sales to global software consolidators and initial public offerings. The firm does not operate a dedicated secondaries or continuation-vehicle program, though it may participate in sponsor-led secondary processes for specific portfolio companies.

Highland Europe raises traditional closed-end blind-pool funds backed by institutional limited partners. Fund I closed at €463 million in 2012, Fund II at €663 million in 2015, Fund III at €859 million in 2018, and Fund IV at €1 billion in 2021. The firm does not manage permanent-capital or evergreen vehicles.

Day-to-day investment decisions are led by co-founders Fergal Mullen and Laurence Garrett, who chair the investment committee alongside partners Irena Goldenberg and Stan Laurent. The firm reports approximately 24 professionals in total, with investment professionals operating out of London and Geneva.