At a time when economic uncertainty lies heavy in the minds of investors, it seems the self perpetuating flow of negative news is becoming contagious. As a gesture to stem the tide of stories of doom and gloom, it is worth giving attention to some of Europe’s top performers.

Examining the compound annual growth rate of European venture backed companies in 2007 highlights some of those top performers. This analysis includes companies with disclosed revenues that were in excess of €1m financial year ending 2006, and looks at growth rates between this time and the financial year ending in 2007. To make it easier to compare companies, revenue figures have been converted to Euros, and therefore any inconsistencies between the displayed revenue figures and the percentage growth listed can be accounted for by currency fluctuations. See: Table 1: Top five European VC backed companies by compact annual growth revenue.

The top performer is UK-based Argenta Discovery, a pharmaceutical drug discovery company developing a pipeline of novel therapies with a focus in respiratory and inflammatory disease. The company, which was formed in 1998, moved into profitability in 2007.

Second is Austria-based Tiani Spirit, a company developing software for the health care sector. Last November chief executive Mr Martin Tiani informed Library House that T-Venture, the corporate venture wing of Deutsche Telekom, invested €1.5m for a 16 per cent stake, valuing the company at €9.375m. Mr Tiani viewed the strategic partnership with T-Venture Holdings as more important than the funding, and predicted revenues would grow to €7m in 2008.

Germany-based Comvel Group comes third. The company runs several online travel agencies catering to customers in Germany, Austria, Poland and, as of November 2007, the UK. They are aiming to obtain a large share of the emerging Eastern European travel market by being an early mover.

Fourth place Apatech specialises in synthetic bone graft substitutes and orthopaedic technologies. The company’s technology is based on research to engineer the best structure for a bone graft material that closely approximates natural bone and provides a scaffold for new bone growth. In June this year the company received a massive 5th round investment of €29m led by 3i.

Fifth place goes to the optimistically named Neverfail Group, whose vision is to have zero user downtime in IT systems, developing disaster recovery software solutions for the Microsoft technology platform.

Library House has been commissioned by Merrill DataSite to examine the awareness and knowledge of Virtual Data Rooms in the European VC and Institutional investor community. Merrill DataSite is the leading global provider of turnkey VDR solutions. Merrill DataSite has hosted virtual data rooms for thousands of clients and millions of visitors, representing transactions totalling multiple billions of dollars in asset value.


Library House has constructed a short survey aimed at privately held companies, investment firms, LPs and large corporations. The survey should take you no longer than 10 minutes to complete, but should supply an insight into Virtual Data Room usage.


Merrill Corporation and Library House will donate £5 to the Prince's Trust for every completed survey.


Please follow this link: VDR Survey

G24i, the UK-based solar cell designer and manufacturer, has raised $30m (€19m) from new investor 4RAE. G24i has developed a proprietary Dye Sensitised Thin Film (DSTF) technology, which is used to create lightweight cells that can be integrated or embedded to a variety of products. The funding will be used to facilitate the company's expansion of production and sales capability.

Fluxome Sciences, the Denmark-based industrial biotechnology company, has raised £10.6m (€13.5m) from new investor Capricorn Venture Partners and existing investors Seventure Partners, Inventure Capital and Vecata. Fluxome Sciences has developed a proprietary microbial metabolic engineering technology platform to build efficient cell factories for the production of a broad range of commercially important nutraceutical ingredients. The funding will be used to develop Fluxome Sciences' technology platform and for company growth.

Crescendo Networks, the Israel-based developer of application acceleration devices for data centres, has raised $9.5m (€6m) from new investor, The Challenge Fund, and existing investors Evergreen Venture Partners, Magma Venture Partners, Stage One Ventures, Apax Partners and Convergent Capital. Crescendo Networks has developed a range of products that enable users to exploit their application infrastructure. The funding will be used for company development.

More companies' intelligence at www.libraryhouse.net

Channel 6 Broadcasting, the Ireland-based entertainment focused television station, has been acquired by TV3 for an undisclosed amount. Channel 6 Broadcasting offers a schedule of entertainment driven content, aimed at 15-34 year-olds, and is available via NTL, Chorus and Sky platforms. The acquisition will enable TV3 to enhance its programming schedule and to strengthen its ability to expand in the market. The acquisition is subject to BCI approval and is expected to complete in Q3 2008.

The Art Group, the UK-based art printing company, has been acquired by private equity firm, RCapital for an undisclosed amount. The Art Group has developed a technology that enables museum and art gallery visitors to purchase art prints via the internet using touch-screen terminals. As a result of the acquisition, The Art Group is part of RCapital's turnaround finance portfolio.

More companies' intelligence at www.libraryhouse.net

U4EA Technologies, the UK-based provider of voice and data services to SMEs, has appointed Curt Mason to the position of chief financial officer. Prior to joining the company, Mr Mason held chief financial officer positions at Intransa, Procket Networks and Kagoor Networks. Before that, Mr Mason served as vice president of corporate finance at Chippac.

Trigen Holdings, the Germany-based biopharmaceutical company, has appointed Ayad Abdul-Ahad to the position of chief executive. Prior to joining the company, Dr Abdul-Ahad served as vice president and head of international medical affairs at Biogen Idec. Before that, Dr Abdul-Ahad held the position of vice president and head of clinical development, CNS, at Berlex Laboratories (Schering). Dr Abdul-Ahad has held various posts in his career, including: oncolocy group leader at AstraZeneca; director, clinical developments and regulatory affairs at SmithKline Beecham; and therapeutic director, immunology and oncology at Serono.

IMI Intelligent Medical Implants, the Switzerland-based medical technology company, has appointed Robert J Hill as vice president of operations. Prior to joining the company, Mr Hill held a variety of senior positions, including: R&D director at Datascope and numerous product development roles at Intervasular. Before that, Mr Hill was principal consultant at Pira International, where he specialised in TQM, general management, packaging design and cost reduction consultancy.

More companies' intelligence at www.libraryhouse.net

Passpack, the Italian-based password management software as a service provider, has revealed to Library House that the company intends to begin fundraising in Q4 2008. Ms Tara Kelly, Passpack's president and co-founder, informed Library House that the company will use the funding from the Q4 2008 round to expand the management team, market the company's products and localise Passpack into 10 languages. Ms Kelly went on to state that Passpack will be adding additional functionality to its product range in Q3/Q4 2008, and will expand its technology platform to include mobile and iPhone compatible software, OpenID integration and secure sharing.

Pure Klimaschutz, the Switzerland-based carbon credits trading company, has informed Library House that the company is currently fundraising and has so far secured £2.9m (€3.7m). Mr Ingol Roesinger, Pure Klimaschutz's co-founder, revealed to Library House that the company expects to raise an additional £1.9m (€2.5m) in the next two months. Mr Roesinger went on to state that 25 per cent of this funding would be used for company finances, 10 per cent for project costs and 65 per cent for working capital. Mr Roesinger also informed Library House that the company intends to seek an additional £4.9m (€6.1m) in funding in 2009.

More companies' intelligence at www.libraryhouse.net