In the 12 months from Q2 2007 through Q1 2008, the most active venture capital investor in Europe was Germany’s High-Tech Gründerfonds Management. The German group was the most active investor both in terms of total deal activity as well as first-time investments. High-Tech Gründerfonds manages €272 million from a combination of public and private-sector sources, including KfW Bankengruppe, Germany’s federal bank, as well as corporates BASF, Siemens, Deutsche Telekom, Daimler, Bosch and Zeiss.

High-Tech Gründerfonds operates using set deal terms, investing up to €500k in exchange for 15% of a company. The group offers the possibility of one additional follow-on round, though the large majority of its investments are new: 37 out of 43 deals it completed during the period were new.

KfW Bankengruppe itself, which runs a variety of investment and co-investment schemes, was the third-most active new investor during the year ending Q108, as well as one of the 10 most active overall. BayBG Bayerische Beteiligungsgesellschaft, a German state bank which runs similar investment initiatives to KfW Bankengruppe, also made both top lists.

KfW, BayBG and High-Tech Gründerfonds rank among the most active investors by all measures, but three more German investors figure in the top 10 most active European VCs by number of new investments. In the year ending Q108, Germany accounted for 6 of the 10 most active VCs by new investments, up from 3 out of 10 in the preceding year.

One of those VCs is the European Founders Fund, the investment vehicle of the Samwer brothers, founders of auction site Alando.de (acquired by eBay) and mobile content provider Jamba! (now part of New Corp’s Fox Interactive Media). In the year ending Q107 year the fund made 6 new investments; this past year it invested in 14 new companies.

Holtzbrinck Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of German publisher Georg von Holtzbrinck, also went from 6 new investments a year ago to 14 new investments in the past year. Holtzbrinck Ventures and European Founders Fund collaborated on five of those deals: Adscale and AdiCash, two online advertising plays; deutsche startups, a news website covering tech businesses; MeinAuto, a website for automobile sales; and Internations, a social network for expatriates.

Wellington Venture Partners also cracked the top 10 list in terms of new investments, continuing its aggressive investment strategy. Over the past two years the firm has been amongst the top 25 investors by number of total deals and top 15 investors by number of new deals. 12 of its 14 deals during the year ending Q108 were new investments.

The string of new deals by German VC firms over the past year comes as some perennially active European VCs are scaling down their new investment activity. Just 28% of Sofinnova Ventures’ deals in the year ending Q108 were new investments, compared with 61% during the year preceding that. 3i also dramatically decreased its new investments, in keeping with the firm’s announcement earlier this year that it would wind down its involvement in early-stage venturing. 3i made just 6 new investments in the past year, compared with 19 the year prior - though 3i’s continued follow-on investment still places it among the top 10 most active VCs by total number of deals.

PacketFront, the Sweden-based provider of open-access broadband solutions, has raised $26m (€16.5m) from existing investors European Equity Partners, Amadeus Capital Partners and TLcom Capital. PacketFront has developed a broadband infrastructure for the delivery of advanced triple-play services. The funding will be used to expand PacketFront's access portfolio to include GPON and to make the company's solution more open, standard based and modular, in order to enable the company to compete with traditional telecommunication equipment vendors.

ARKeX, the UK-based developer of geophysical imaging technology, has raised $30m (€19m) from return investors Energy Ventures and Scottish Equity Partners, and new investor Ferd Venture. ARKeX has developed a gravity gradiometry technology that measures minute variations in the Earth's gravitational field, enabling explorationists to gain a complete picture and a better understanding of subsurface geology. The funding will be used to expand the operational capabilities of the company's airborne BlueQube gravity gradiometry imaging service, and to accelerate production of its proprietary technology, the Exploration Gravity Gradiometer.

GD GameDuell, the Germany-based online games community, has raised $17.3m (€11m) in series B funding from new investor Wellington Partners. GD GameDuell has developed an online gaming platform that enables its community members to play casual games competitively against one another for prizes. The funding will be used for international expansion and to employ additional staff.

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Spintop Netsolution, the Sweden-based developer of solutions for the administration of PC environments on Microsoft platforms, has been acquired by Atea Sverige for an undisclosed amount. Spintop Netsolution has developed a suite of tools that enable IT users to automate tasks and create a self-service environment. The acquisition will enable Atea Svergie to strengthen its position in the market and offer its customers a wider range of IT solutions.

Elprint, the Norway-based printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturer, has filed for bankruptcy. Kyrre Ans, the law firm handling Elprint's bankruptcy stated on 1st July that the company had gone bankrupt. No further details were disclosed.

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Codenomicon, the Finland-based developer of software testing tools for the elimination and prevention of security vulnerabilities, has appointed David Chartier as chief executive. Prior to joining the company, Mr Chartier was chairman of Maxware, which was acquired by SAP in 2007. Before that, Mr Chartier held chief executive positions at numerous startup companies including IntelliSearch and Computas, and has also served as chairman of Active ISP. Mr Chartier also founded InfoStream, and led the company to IPO in 1999.

Nabriva Therapeutics, the Austria-based biopharmaceutical company, has appointed George Golumbeski as chief executive. Prior to joining the company, Dr Golumbeski held the position of vice president of business development, licensing & strategy for the oncology business unit at Novartis. Whilst at Novartis, Dr Golumbeski also served as a member of the executive committee. Before that, Dr Golumbeski led transactions which have resulted in two products that have been approved or are in registration in the US and the EU.

Tarmin Technologies, the UK-based provider of information management software, has appointed Adrian Williams as European director of channel sales and alliances. Prior to joining the company, Mr Williams held the position of strategic alliance manager for EMEA at Dot Hill Systems. Prior to that, Mr Williams spent five years at SUN Microsystems, where he held various partnership and channel management roles.

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DuoCort, the Sweden-based drug development company, revealed to Library House that the company will seek further funding in Q4 2008. Mr Greg Batcheller, DuoCort's chief executive, informed Library House that the company intends to seek €3.2m, and that this investment would be used as working capital and towards further company development. Mr Batcheller also informed Library House that the company is currently looking for development partners.

Walk-Care, the Israel-based developer of mobilisation devices, informed Library House that the company is currently looking for funding. Mr Jacob Gabel, Walk-Care's co-founder and R&D manager, revealed to Library House that the company is seeking to raise $2m (€1.3m). Mr Gabel went on to state that this funding would be used towards finalising the company's business plan and securing an engineering partner.

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