Venture Capital

Updated:

LocalGlobe

Saul Klein and Robin Klein founded London seed-stage venture firm LocalGlobe in 1999, backing Wise, Zoopla, and Improbable from King's Cross.

LocalGlobe logo

LocalGlobe

LocalGlobe was established in 1999 by father-and-son team Robin and Saul Klein, veteran operators who helped build the early UK internet economy. Robin co-founded VideoLogic and went on to seed LoveFilm. Saul was part of the founding team at Skype. The firm emerged from a period when London barely had a venture industry and grew into the city's most consistent early-stage backer of the current generation of European tech champions. LocalGlobe now sits within a wider family of funds under the Phoenix Court Group umbrella. LocalGlobe focuses on pre-seed and seed-stage technology companies, almost exclusively in the UK and Northern Europe. Portfolio company density is highest in London, Cambridge, and Oxford. The firm has made early commitments to enterprise software, fintech, and digital health platforms. Confirmed positions include Wise (formerly TransferWise), Zoopla, Citymapper, Improbable, and Algolia. The firm does not publicly commit to specific allocation bands but its Seedcamp co-investing pattern and emergence as a first-check partner for ex-Deliveroo, Revolut, and Monzo alumni give it a distinctive flow of operator-led deal sourcing. The sibling fund Latitude targets breakout growth rounds from within the same Phoenix Court portfolio, creating an internal escalation path that technically competes with outside lead investors. LocalGlobe's team size and aggregate capital base are not publicly disclosed. The Klein family chronicles much of the firm's activity through open-access publications like ‘LocalGlobe’s Guide to Seed Investing’ and regular community updates, making the firm unusually transparent for a privately held venture manager. In mid-2024, LocalGlobe and sister fund Latitude were appointed to manage a portion of the British Business Bank's £150m investment programme aimed at pension-led fund of funds (per the British Business Bank, July 2024). The firm maintains a shared office complex near King’s Cross, which also houses several portfolio companies. The firm’s structural differentiator is its hybrid architecture inside Phoenix Court Group. Three distinct legal entities — LocalGlobe (pre-seed and seed), Latitude (Series B and growth), and Basecamp (a founder community and scout programme) — operate as separately managed silos under shared Kleinian leadership. This allows the firm to function simultaneously as an angel-style first-check shop and as an institutionally credible growth investor without formal cross-fund conflicts, because all three are designed to feed each other in a controlled manner. That architecture remains atypical in European venture.

General information

Firm type

Venture Capital

Year founded

1999

AUM

Undisclosed

Location

Region

Europe

Country

United Kingdom

City

London

Corporate office

London, United Kingdom

Principals

Saul Klein

Founding Partner

Robin Klein

Founding Partner

Sector focus

Enterprise SoftwareFinTechDigital HealthAI/MLClimateTechMobility & TransportationPropTechAgriTech & FoodTech

Frequently asked questions

Who runs investment decisions at LocalGlobe?

Saul Klein and Robin Klein function as the final decision-makers on portfolio commitments. The firm operates a flat partnership structure where both founders share investment committee authority. Individual deal partners lead sourcing and diligence within thematic areas, but no major capital allocation occurs without the direct involvement of the Klein family principals.

How does LocalGlobe source proprietary deal flow?

LocalGlobe's sourcing relies heavily on its network of operator-founders who previously worked at portfolio companies such as Wise, Deliveroo, and Revolut. The firm also runs Basecamp, a structured community programme housed within Phoenix Court that provides office space, mentorship, and a pathway to a first check. This in-house scout system generates a persistent pipeline of London and Cambridge-based technical founders.

Is LocalGlobe structured as a single family office or does it operate more like a venture firm?

LocalGlobe is a traditional venture capital firm managing third-party institutional capital, not a single family office. However, the Klein family exercises unusual control through the parent entity Phoenix Court Group, which clusters LocalGlobe, Latitude, and Basecamp under common leadership while keeping investment committees separate. This creates a family-influenced governance structure distinct from the typical delegated-partner model at London VCs.

Does LocalGlobe participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?

LocalGlobe invests almost exclusively through direct equity positions in seed-stage companies, not as a limited partner in other funds. The sister fund Latitude extends the same direct investment philosophy into growth-stage rounds. To date there is no public record of Phoenix Court Group entities making fund-of-funds commitments into third-party managers.

Which sectors does LocalGlobe explicitly avoid?

LocalGlobe has historically avoided hardware-intensive sectors such as semiconductor fabrication and pure-play medical devices, preferring asset-light software and marketplace business models. The firm also shows minimal exposure to oil-and-gas or extractive-industry technology. It has not publicly articulated a formal exclusions list, but portfolio data across a decade shows a strong negative tilt toward capital-intensive industrial tech in favour of digital platforms.

How is LocalGlobe related to Latitude and Basecamp?

All three entities sit inside Phoenix Court Group, which Robin and Saul Klein control. LocalGlobe writes first checks from pre-seed to seed. Latitude then leads or participates in Series B and growth rounds for companies that graduated from LocalGlobe's portfolio or originated through Basecamp, the community and mentorship programme. Legally they are separate fund management companies with distinct limited partner bases, but the investment teams coordinate closely and share the same King's Cross headquarters.

Does LocalGlobe maintain philanthropic structures, and how are they separated?

There is no public record of a dedicated Klein family philanthropic foundation formally linked to LocalGlobe or Phoenix Court Group. The firm publishes investment guides and community materials freely as a form of ecosystem contribution, but this does not appear to be routed through a tax-advantaged charitable entity. Any private philanthropy by the Kleins is not disclosed through the firm's professional channels.

Profile maintained by using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.

Need institutional-grade insight on venture capital firms?

Altss delivers:

Principals with verified direct contactsAllocation history by asset classOSINT-derived deal signals
Book a demo

Prefer a guided tour?

We’ll walk you through:

Interactive funding timelinesCustom mandate & allocation filters
Book a demo

Browse by category

More London Venture Capital profiles