Praetura Ventures (PV), the North West-based VC and Northern Powerhouse Investment II (NPIF II) NW Equity fund manager, has appointed two new industry professionals to its growing investment team as it looks to continue building its portfolio.
Camilla Greenwood and Klarissa Nura have joined the company from LDC and Maven Capital, respectively, taking Praetura’s North West investment team to 11 people and the total number of female investors within the team to five.
A Chartered Accountant, Camilla joined LDC’s North West team in 2021 after initially starting out at PwC and brings with her a wealth of investment experience, having been at the heart of the North’s Private Equity sector.
In her new role as an Investment Director at Praetura Ventures, Camilla will be responsible for deploying funds from NPIF II – NW Equity Fund into regional businesses, in line with the British Business Bank’s mission to help fund regional entrepreneurs.
Klarissa, who joins as an Investment Associate, worked on a number of notable deals during her time at Maven and will be responsible for supporting the deployment of capital from NPIF II.
Louise Chapman, NPIF II Fund Principal at Praetura Ventures, said: “We are lucky to enjoy a wealth of investment talent in the North West, and that is evidenced by the work done by Camilla and Klarissa over their careers so far. We are delighted to be welcoming both of them to our growing Praetura team in what is shaping up to be one of the biggest years for us to date, following the launch of the £660m NPIF II and outstanding growth in our portfolio.”
Camilla Greenwood, Investment Director at Praetura Ventures, said: “It is an exciting time for Praetura Ventures who have seen significant growth in recent years. I am really looking forward to investing the newly awarded NPIF II fund and providing More than Money. There is a wealth of knowledge within the team of scaling early-stage businesses which will be put to good use in a flourishing Northern market”
Klarissa Nura, Investment Associate at Praetura Ventures, added: "I'm so excited to join the Praetura team. They've got a renowned reputation for backing the best businesses in the North's ecosystem with their 'More Than Money' support. I can't wait to get started."
Simon Cunnington, Investment Manager at British Business Bank, said: “Praetura will play an important role in helping small businesses in the North West achieve their growth objectives through accessing equity finance from NPIF II. These two appointments demonstrate the team’s commitment to successfully deliver the funding across the North West business community.”
The news follows Praetura being named the fund manager for the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II – Equity North West mandate, with £100m of the total £660m fund dedicated to helping North West businesses scale.
The £660m NPIF II covers the entire North of England and provides loans from £25k to £2m and equity investment up to £5m to help a range of small and medium sized businesses to start up, scale up or stay ahead.
The purpose of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II is to drive sustainable economic growth by supporting innovation and creating local opportunities for new and growing businesses across the North of England. NPIF II will increase the supply and diversity of early-stage finance for the North’s smaller businesses, providing funds to firms that might otherwise not receive investment and help to break down barriers in access to finance.
The announcement also comes after Praetura Ventures’ June launch of PraeSeed, a cohort-based investment programme supported by NPIF II funding that’s aimed at funding up to 8 pre-seed stage businesses annually.
In the past two years, Praetura has welcomed talent from a host of major finance companies and institutions, including Octopus Investments and Puma Investments, highlighting the VC’s major growth ambitions.
Earlier this year, Praetura also welcomed former Beer Hawk founder, Mark Roberts, as an Operational Partner. Mark, who joined Praetura in April, successfully exited Beer Hawk to AB InBev, which rebranded Beer Hawk as PerfectDraft. He later served as PerfectDraft’s Global CEO until 2022 and chaired the Leeds City Regional Local Enterprise Partnership until 2023.
