About Sprints

• Founded: 2017

• Headquarters: London, United Kingdom

• Strategy: Growth equity, European B2B software and technology-enabled services

• Thesis: Backs founder-led businesses that have achieved product-market fit and are scaling revenue, targeting companies typically generating €5m–€50m in ARR

• Track record: Fund IV closed at €520m in 2022; prior funds include €250m Fund III (2020) and €125m Fund II (2018)

• Leadership: Founded by Davor Hebel, Stefan Klestil, and Philipp Braunsberger

Sprints closed Fund V at its €725m hard cap, marking a 40% step-up from its €520m predecessor raised in 2022. The firm targets B2B software and technology-enabled services businesses across Europe, typically writing initial checks of €10m–€40m into companies with established revenue traction. The raise was oversubscribed, with the firm setting the hard cap to maintain fund-size discipline relative to its core check-size range.

The 40% increase positions Sprints in the middle of a bimodal European growth equity fundraising cycle. Firms with consistent deployment records and sector focus have raised at modest premiums to prior vintages — Beringea closed its £350m ProVen Growth & Income Fund in November 2024, up roughly 30% from its predecessor, while Verdane secured €1.3bn for its tenth fund in early 2024, flat to its prior generation. The step-up suggests LP appetite for established managers in B2B software remains intact, but the hard cap reflects caution around fund-size creep in a market where exit timelines have extended and valuation discipline has returned.

The test for Fund V will be deployment pace and maintaining check discipline. Sprints' strategy sits in the €10m–€40m initial check band, a range that has become crowded as larger growth managers write smaller checks and seed-stage firms scale up. The 40% capital increase without a disclosed expansion in investment team size implies either faster deployment or larger average check sizes — both of which carry execution risk if the firm stretches beyond its historical mandate or competes for deals outside its core lower-middle-market positioning.

Source: AltAssets