# Top 20 Franchise Startup Investors in United Kingdom in June 2026 ## Pembroke VCT - Type: VC Fund - Location: London, England, United Kingdom - Relevant deals: 2 - Stages: Seed, Series A - Focus: Fashion, E-Commerce, Software Pembroke VCT PLC is a venture capital trust specializing in investments in any stage of business development. Their focus is on companies in the health and fitness, hospitality, apparel, and accessories, and media and technology sectors. ## EchoVC Partners - Type: VC Fund - Location: Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria - Relevant deals: 2 - Stages: Seed, Series A, Pre-Seed - Focus: Information Technology, FinTech, Software EchoVC Partners is a seed and early-stage venture capital firm focused on financing and cross-pollinating leading technologies, teams, business models, and knowledge across North America, Africa, and SE Asia. The average investment size ranges from $25,000 to several million dollars depending on the stage of opportunity and capital needs of thebusiness. ## Fuel Ventures - Type: VC Fund - Location: London, England, United Kingdom - Relevant deals: 2 - Stages: Seed, Pre-Seed - Focus: Software, SaaS, Artificial Intelligence Fuel Ventures - a leading early stage seed / growth stage EIS Fund based in London, UK. Investing in the most ambitious technology companies. ## Kima Ventures - Type: VC Fund - Location: Paris, Ile-de-France, France - Relevant deals: 2 - Stages: Seed, Pre-Seed, Series A - Focus: Software, SaaS, Artificial Intelligence Kima Ventures promotes the growth of startups, supporting them in the fastest and most effective ways. ## Alchimia Investments - Type: VC Fund - Location: Rome, Lazio, Italy - Relevant deals: 2 - Stages: Series A, Seed - Focus: Software, Health Care, Medical Alchimia is an investment company primarily operating in the Venture Capital Sector. Leveraging the expertise of our team and a wide network of international advisors, we invest and co-invest in high growth potential opportunities offering capital, as well as dedicated strategic and operational resources. ## SBI Investment - Type: VC Fund - Location: Minato, Chiba, Japan - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Series B, Series A - Focus: Information Technology, Software, Financial Services SBI Investment supports the business development and growth of private venture companies through fund investment. It manages and manages venture capital funds under the management philosophy of becoming a leading company responsible for the creation and development of core industries in the 21st century as a "new industry creator".SBIInvestment has invested in a total of 986 companies in the past, of which 169 (17.1% of investment companies) have exited through IPO or M & A. ## Tencent - Type: VC Fund - Location: Shenzhen, Guangdong, China - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Series B, Series A, Series C - Focus: Software, Financial Services, Artificial Intelligence Tencent is an internet service portal offering value-added internet, mobile, telecom, and online advertising services. Its communications and social platforms Weixin and QQ connect users with each other, with digital content and daily life services in just a few clicks. Tencent has maintained steady growth under its user-oriented operatingstrategies. It provides value-added internet, mobile, and telecom services, as well as online advertising under the strategic goal of providing users with "one-stop online lifestyle services." Tencent’s Internet platforms in China – QQ (QQ Instant Messenger), WeChat, QQ.com, QQ Games, Qzone, 3g.QQ.com, SoSo, PaiPai, and Tenpay – aim to address the various needs of internet users, including communication, information, entertainment, e-commerce, and others.In September 2013, Tencent's market valuation rose to $101 billion, and as of November 21, 2013, QQ had 2 billion active users and WeChat had 650 million monthly active users. The numbers of active users for QQ mail, Qzone, Tencent Weibo, and QQ news were 274 million, 626 million, 220 million, and 150 million, respectively.Tencent was founded in November of 1998. In April 2000, the IDG and PCCW invested a total of $2.2 million dollars in the company. Tencent was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (SEHK) on June 16, 2004. Baidu, Alibaba, and Netease are Tencent's major competitors. ## Firstminute Capital - Type: VC Fund - Location: London, England, United Kingdom - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Seed, Series A, Pre-Seed - Focus: Software, Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence firstminute is a seed fund backed by over 130 unicorn founders and a world-class community. ## Burda Principal Investments - Type: VC Fund - Location: Munich, Bayern, Germany - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Series B, Series A, Series C - Focus: E-Commerce, Internet, Retail Burda Principal Investments (BPI) is a division of Hubert Burda Media which provides long term growth equity for fast growing digital technology and media companies. ## GC Angels - Type: VC Fund - Location: Manchester, New Hampshire, United States - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Seed, Pre-Seed, Angel - Focus: Software, Fashion, Health Care The Growth Company’s two Angel services, Co-Angel Investment Service and North West Business Angels have recently merged creating a more cohesive offer, enabling increased access to early stage equity funding. The service now known as GC Angels, supports businesses seeking access to angel investment, ranging from £25,000 up to £2m. Developed by GCas the next evolution of its successful Co Angel Investment Service, GC Angels forms part of the GM Combined Authority's response to supporting the early stage investment market, and integrates with the range of wider GC business finance and business support services. It will incorporate the network offer (NWBA); the fee-bearing advisory service (Co Angel) alongside the new GM Co-Investment Fund, providing an innovative, single solution equity funding service. ## Auxxo - Type: VC Fund - Location: Berlin, Berlin, Germany - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Seed, Pre-Seed, Series A - Focus: Software, Health Care, FinTech The Auxxo Female Catalyst Fund is a sector agnostic pre-seed and seed stage investors that backs female (co-)founded startups in Europe. ## Lars Fjeldsoe-Nielsen - Type: Angel - Location: London, England, United Kingdom - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Seed, Series A, Series B - Focus: Software, Information Technology, Mobile Apps Lars Fjeldsoe-Nielsen grew up across Africa, from Angola and Guinea-Bissau to Tanzania and Libya, after his family fled the Angolan Civil War as refugees. Those early experiences instilled in him a belief that education, technology, and social innovation can transform lives and continue to anchor his career and philanthropic activities to this day.Today, Lars is a General Partner at Owl Ventures ($2.2 billion AUM), the world’s leading venture capital firm focused exclusively on education technology. He leads Owl’s expansion across Europe, Africa, and global markets, backing founders who harness AI and breakthrough technologies to make learning more accessible and impactful.Before joining Owl, Lars co-founded 2xN, an early-stage fund at the frontier of deeptech and quantum innovation, with standout investments including Quantinuum (valued above $10 billion), Oxford Ionics (acquired by IonQ in a $1 billion deal), QSimulate, and Sparrow Quantum. Prior to that, he was a General Partner at Balderton Capital in London during which time the firm led the Seed and Series A rounds in Revolut. His investments also span education (Labster, uLesson, StudySmarter, Kukua), mobility (Yassir, Voi, Monta, NoTraffic), and mobile and frontier tech (Hiya, Monarch Money, Rahko, Pocket, Colossal, Celus, Octant Bio, Vivino, OpenSea, Blue Bottle Coffee).Lars previously spent a decade in Silicon Valley, shaping some of tech’s most iconic growth stories. At Uber, he joined when it operated in fewer than 20 cities and, as Vice President, forged global alliances with Verizon and América Móvil that fueled its international expansion. Before Uber, as Head of Mobile at Dropbox, he was among the first 25 employees and helped the company reach its first 100 million users through partnerships with Samsung and other OEMs.Despite his career in technology and venture capital, Africa has never left Lars’s journey. After his father’s passing, he returned to Angola to trace his family’s history, discovering that his sister had died of malaria as a child. That revelation transformed a personal loss into a mission. A technologist turned humanitarian innovator, Lars filed a patent for genetically modified mosquitoes that light up when carrying malaria and began funding malaria-research projects in Angola through partnerships with global nonprofits. In 2024, he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise funds for malaria research, following earlier campaigns such as climbing the Matterhorn and crossing the Sahara by motorbike.A Danish-Portuguese national who served with the Royal Danish Guards, Lars holds an MBA from London Business School, where he was a member of the Board of Governors and Chairman of the Endowment Fund, an MSc from Oxford University (Keble College), and a BSc from King’s College London. Across every chapter, from refugee to technologist to investor, his purpose endures: advancing education, health, and innovation as catalysts for social change. ## Sebastien Breteau - Type: Angel - Location: London, England, United Kingdom - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Seed, Series A, Angel - Focus: Apps, EdTech, Software Sebastien Breteau is an entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist. He is the founder and CEO of QIMA, a global supply chain compliance solutions provider headquartered in Hong Kong.Founded in 2005, QIMA partners with brands, retailers and manufacturers in consumer goods and food to secure and improve the quality of their global supply network.QIMA combines on-the-ground experts in 85 countries for quality inspections, supplier audits, certification and lab testing, with a digital platform that brings accuracy, visibility and intelligence for quality and compliance data.In 2013, Sebastien created the Breteau Foundation, a non-profit organisation which aims to promote digital education for children in developing countries. 18,000 children are now enrolled in its program.Sebastien Breteau is also an active private investor in Europe, China & the US and has invested in over 30 start-ups globally. ## LDC - Type: VC Fund - Location: London, England, United Kingdom - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Private Equity, Secondary Market - Focus: Software, Information Technology, Manufacturing For over 40 years, LDC has been the trusted investment partner for ambitious management teams. We invest in a diverse range of businesses across every region and sector of the UK economy. ## Volta Circle - Type: VC Fund - Location: London, England, United Kingdom - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Seed, Series A, Series B - Focus: Food and Beverage, Fashion, Software Volta Circle is an evergreen VC fund focused on technology-driven solutions that reshape linear economic systems into circular ones. ## HMB Finance Group - Type: VC Fund - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Angel - Focus: FinTech, Franchise, Financial Services The HMB Finance Group provides financial solutions for every stage of your financial journey. ## Sonorcap - Type: VC Fund - Location: Paris, Ile-de-France, France - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Pre-Seed - Focus: Software, Franchise, Hospitality Sonorcap is an early stage technology investor with a focus on software and retailtech ## OPRTRS CLUB - Type: VC Fund - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed - Focus: Internet, Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence OPRTRS CLUB is a community-led investment platform for tech operators. ## Jerome Tafani - Type: Angel - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Pre-Seed - Focus: Software, Franchise, Hospitality ## Daphni - Type: VC Fund - Location: Paris, Ile-de-France, France - Relevant deals: 1 - Stages: Series A, Seed - Focus: Software, Information Technology, E-Commerce daphni is a venture capital based in Paris, firm investing in tech startups with a European DNA and a strong international ambition.