Sussex Place Ventures

About Sussex Place Ventures

Sussex Place Ventures is an independently managed venture capital firm associated with London Business School (Sussex Place refers to the LBS Regent's Park headquarters address). The firm is headquartered in London, United Kingdom and was founded in 1998 in support of the London Business School entrepreneurship programmes. The firm is owned by London Business School and reserves a portion of fund profits for the School, creating an unusual hybrid alumni-network and institutional-VC structure. Assets under management as of December 2024 disclosure is limited. The firm manages at least two fund vehicles: a predecessor LBS Fund and Regents Park Partners II ECF LP, a GBP 30 million Enterprise Capital Fund launched in April 2014 with two-thirds (GBP 20 million) committed by the British Business Bank through the ECF programme and one-third (GBP 10 million) committed by private investors, exited technology entrepreneurs, business angels and London Business School alumni. The firm has historically managed multiple smaller LBS-linked vehicles since 1998 and reports approximately 44 cumulative investments. The firm draws on the London Business School alumni base of more than 37,000 individuals for diligence, deal sourcing and portfolio support.

Investment thesis

Sussex Place Ventures pursues an early-stage (seed and Series A) strategy focused on enterprise software and deep technology with strong patent-protectable intellectual property. The thesis emphasises three areas: enterprise software platforms automating critical business processes, patent-protected deep technology including life-science instrumentation, semiconductor IP, materials and industrial automation, and digital businesses scaling proprietary platforms. Geographic focus is the United Kingdom with London and Cambridge as primary deal-flow hubs. Initial ticket sizes are typically up to GBP 1 million per company at the first cheque, with reserved follow-on capacity. Stage focus is seed to Series A, with the firm willing to back companies pre-product-market-fit when the patent moat is exceptional. The limited partner base is structurally distinctive with the British Business Bank as cornerstone investor in Regents Park Partners II ECF LP (committed GBP 20 million of GBP 30 million), with the balance from London Business School alumni, exited LBS-affiliated entrepreneurs and business angels. Value creation explicitly leverages the firm unusual access to the London Business School alumni base, with alumni and entrepreneurs in the LBS network contributing to due diligence, post-investment portfolio value-add, mentorship, customer introductions and executive recruitment.

Recent activity

Recent investments include FA Bio in agriculture technology and agri-biology (December 2023), Cutover in enterprise software and work-orchestration, Entia in medical technology and point-of-care diagnostics and Endomag in medical technology and breast-cancer surgical guidance. Recent exits include Endomag (Endomagnetics Ltd) in medical technology and breast cancer surgical guidance (2024 trade sale announced April 2024, completed July 2024), Kimble Applications in enterprise software and professional services automation (2020), and Skimlinks in digital and affiliate commerce software (2020 trade sale). The platform continues to deploy across UK enterprise software and patent-protected deep technology at the seed to Series A stages. Detailed buyer names and multiple data available on Pro at €29/month.