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European tech stars lit up London’s Park Lane last night, as the continent’s leading investors and entrepreneurs gathered at the Hilton Park Lane hotel for the 19th Annual Investor Allstars awards ceremony.

Hosted by Charlotte Hawkins, Europe’s most glamorous tech awards ceremony was back in full force. The event convened over 600 of the most preeminent names from Europe’s tech and investment landscape, celebrating not only the winners of the individual categories, but the strength of the ecosystem as a whole.

It’s been quite the year for the European tech industry. According to GP Bullhound’s latest Titans report, the sector nearly doubled in value over the past year – nearly surpassing the total amount accumulated over the past 20 years. There are now 166 Unicorns in Europe, with 52 reaching this status in the past year alone, and the ecosystem’s aggregate valuation has increased by 9x since GP Bullhound’s first Titans report in 2014 – with the ecosystem now valued at $801bn.

It has become increasingly obvious that the European tech industry is a force to be reckoned with, and the pandemic has only further solidified its status as a maturing sector competing on the global stage.

European stars recorded yet another stellar year of growth, a range of prominent company exits and a swathe of global success stories.

If you’ve been wondering who the leading tech names in 2021 have been, who’s invested the most, or who the up-and-coming tech companies are, then look no further – last night offered all the answers.

Some of the biggest accolades given out on the night – as nearly two decades of tradition dictate – were the likes of ‘Exit of the year’, ‘Investor of the year’, ‘Entrepreneur of the year’ and, of course, the coveted ‘Allstar Company’ title.

The ‘Exit of the year’ category served as a great bellwether for the maturity of the European tech sector, and the progress achieved to date. Competition was fierce, particularly due to the wide selection of IPOs for the very first time in history, with the prize going to VC investment firm EarlyBird.

EarlyBird was rewarded for their involvement in multiple funding rounds for UiPath, and having held a board seat with the company, ultimately leading to the largest IPO for a Europe-born technology company – with a $36 billion market cap after UiPath’s first day of trading at the New York Stock Exchange.

One of the most prestigious wins on the night, for ‘Entrepreneur of the year’, went to the founder and CEO of Cazoo, Alex Chesterman. Alex was commended not only for his outstanding work building yet another tech powerhouse in Cazoo, but for having built a third successful business – following triumphs with LoveFilm and Zoopla – and his overall contribution to the tech and investment ecosystem.

For the first time in the ceremony’s history, the award for ‘Investor of the year’ was shared by two winners. Carlos Espinal and Reshma Sohoni, Managing Partners at seed-stage VC fund Seedcamp, were recognised for their long-term strategy and growth of the firm as one of the most reputable and successful in the ecosystem, and for their recent high-profile investments in Hopin and UiPath.

What’s more, Seedcamp was also awarded the prize for ‘Seed fund of the year’, an acknowledgment of the fact that the fund completed a huge range of successful deals and exits in the past year.

The nod for ‘Venture Capital Fund of the year’ went to VC powerhouse, Balderton Capital, not only for raising an astonishing £1bn fund in the past year alone, but for successfully completing an immense 12 exits – including with some of the most recognisable firms in the market such as Depop, Darktrace and The Hut Group.  

Similarly, Sprints Capital were awarded for a very high number of exits in the past year, and a track record of devolving 10% of the firm’s carried interest to charity – walking away with the prize for the ‘Growth and Buyout Fund of the year’.

There was also an award for the emerging talent that has recently appeared on the scene and that the ecosystem is beginning to take note of. The ‘Young entrepreneur of the year’ prize went to Christian Hecker, the co-founder and CEO of Trade Republic, who has already secured very impressive backing to date – including from Sequoia Capital – and has exhibited phenomenal growth in his early career.

The evening that gathered many of the leading names in the technology and investment landscape, was also the perfect opportunity to celebrate those who have built long careers in the industry and have left a lifelong impact.

Anne Glover, giant of the investment world, was welcomed into the GP Bullhound Investor Allstars Hall of Fame, for her unmatched contribution to the ecosystem and overall impact on European tech investment.

This year’s prestigious award for Europe’s Allstar company, recognising the continent’s most exciting technology company, was won by Jobandtalent – for their international expansion, growth potential, and overall contribution to reducing unemployment.

The Tech4Good award went to Notpla, for their mission to replace harmful packaging with organic alternatives, on a path to a more sustainable future, while the Digital Innovation in Art award was won by Wondeur, for successfully using digital technology to disrupt and innovate within the art field.

Hosted by global tech and investment advisory firm GP Bullhound, the Investor Allstars were a great reminder of the breadth and depth of the European tech landscape, and how the ecosystem has matured over the past few years.

Manish Madhvani, Managing Partner of GP Bullhound, reflected on the Awards: “It’s astonishing to see how the European tech sector has fast forwarded 5 years during the pandemic. It took 20 years from 2000-2020 for Europe’s cohort of its most successful tech companies to achieve a combined value of $400bn. In the past year alone $382bn was added. Almost 20 years of shareholder value in one pandemic year.”

Looking at the shortlist for the Awards, the winners were returning in excess of 100 times the original investment in household names such as Depop, The Hut Group, Auto 1, Cazoo, and UiPath.

Historically the winners have returned 10 times the original investment. We are also seeing a much deeper bench of senior talent amongst the entrepreneurs many are now on their second or third company. Many have already built global leaders before, and this allows companies to both disrupt and scale faster. We witnessed incredible growth from across Europe from companies such as Mollie, Jobandtalent, Global Processing Services, Element, Signavio, Elvie, Immersive labs and Bloom & Wild.

GP Bullhound has itself experienced tremendous growth, with 450% revenue growth from 2020 to 2021, $5bn of advisory transaction value delivered YTD and having just closed its fifth oversubscribed Fund of €300m. European tech has really reached an inflexion point that will allow it to rival the US and Asian markets.”

The evening also celebrated GP Bullhound’s support for Working Options in Education – an employability and life skills charity helping young people fulfil their potential, including supporting those facing challenges caused by the pandemic, and prioritising those from disadvantaged regions.

The ceremony was supported by key partners, including Astanor, Berenberg, Orrick, Wilson Sonsini, .Art, Bird & Bird, Bloomberg, Cooley, Httpool, Calibre One and Shoosmiths.

Last night’s gathering was about much more than just the handing out of prizes. Evenings like yesterday’s are a great moment to pause and take stock of all that’s been achieved in European tech.

Championing diversity, creativity, and ambition, Investor Allstars has now been running for nearly 20 years. Year-on year the event spotlights the strength and velocity of European tech, and serves as a valuable encouragement to the entrepreneurs of tomorrow.

It’s an exciting time for the tech industry in the UK, and Europe at large, and the Awards were a timely reminder of the opportunities at hand, and how the tech sector is set to fuel growth for years to come.

Sponsored Ad Feature is produced by an advertiser with the specific intent to promote a product and is not produced by the City PM team.

European tech stars lit up London’s Park Lane last night, as the continent’s leading investors and entrepreneurs gathered at the Hilton Park Lane hotel for the 19th Annual Investor Allstars awards ceremony.

Hosted by Charlotte Hawkins, Europe’s most glamorous tech awards ceremony was back in full force. The event convened over 600 of the most preeminent names from Europe’s tech and investment landscape, celebrating not only the winners of the individual categories, but the strength of the ecosystem as a whole.

It’s been quite the year for the European tech industry. According to GP Bullhound’s latest Titans report, the sector nearly doubled in value over the past year – nearly surpassing the total amount accumulated over the past 20 years. There are now 166 Unicorns in Europe, with 52 reaching this status in the past year alone, and the ecosystem’s aggregate valuation has increased by 9x since GP Bullhound’s first Titans report in 2014 – with the ecosystem now valued at $801bn.

It has become increasingly obvious that the European tech industry is a force to be reckoned with, and the pandemic has only further solidified its status as a maturing sector competing on the global stage.

European stars recorded yet another stellar year of growth, a range of prominent company exits and a swathe of global success stories.

If you’ve been wondering who the leading tech names in 2021 have been, who’s invested the most, or who the up-and-coming tech companies are, then look no further – last night offered all the answers.

Some of the biggest accolades given out on the night – as nearly two decades of tradition dictate – were the likes of ‘Exit of the year’, ‘Investor of the year’, ‘Entrepreneur of the year’ and, of course, the coveted ‘Allstar Company’ title.

The ‘Exit of the year’ category served as a great bellwether for the maturity of the European tech sector, and the progress achieved to date. Competition was fierce, particularly due to the wide selection of IPOs for the very first time in history, with the prize going to VC investment firm EarlyBird.

EarlyBird was rewarded for their involvement in multiple funding rounds for UiPath, and having held a board seat with the company, ultimately leading to the largest IPO for a Europe-born technology company – with a $36 billion market cap after UiPath’s first day of trading at the New York Stock Exchange.

One of the most prestigious wins on the night, for ‘Entrepreneur of the year’, went to the founder and CEO of Cazoo, Alex Chesterman. Alex was commended not only for his outstanding work building yet another tech powerhouse in Cazoo, but for having built a third successful business – following triumphs with LoveFilm and Zoopla – and his overall contribution to the tech and investment ecosystem. Alongside that prize, the award for ‘CEO of the year’ went to Maria Raga of Depop – who’s brought a new, creative business model to the market, and revolutionised the industry.

For the first time in the ceremony’s history, the award for ‘Investor of the year’ was shared by two winners. Carlos Espinal and Reshma Sohoni, Managing Partners at seed-stage VC fund Seedcamp, were recognised for their long-term strategy and growth of the firm as one of the most reputable and successful in the ecosystem, and for their recent high-profile investments in Hopin and UiPath.

What’s more, Seedcamp was also awarded the prize for ‘Seed fund of the year’, an acknowledgment of the fact that the fund completed a huge range of successful deals and exits in the past year.

The nod for ‘Venture Capital Fund of the year’ went to VC powerhouse, Balderton Capital, not only for raising an astonishing £1bn fund in the past year alone, but for successfully completing an immense 12 exits – including with some of the most recognisable firms in the market such as Depop, Darktrace and The Hut Group.  

Similarly, Sprints Capital were awarded for a very high number of exits in the past year, and a track record of devolving 10% of the firm’s carried interest to charity – walking away with the prize for the ‘Growth and Buyout Fund of the year’.

There was also an award for the emerging talent that has recently appeared on the scene and that the ecosystem is beginning to take note of. The ‘Young entrepreneur of the year’ prize went to Christian Hecker, the co-founder and CEO of Trade Republic, who has already secured very impressive backing to date – including from Sequoia Capital – and has exhibited phenomenal growth in his early career.

The evening that gathered many of the leading names in the technology and investment landscape, was also the perfect opportunity to celebrate those who have built long careers in the industry and have left a lifelong impact.

Anne Glover, giant of the investment world, was welcomed into the GP Bullhound Investor Allstars Hall of Fame, for her unmatched contribution to the ecosystem and overall impact on European tech investment.

This year’s prestigious award for Europe’s Allstar company, recognising the continent’s most exciting technology company, was won by Jobandtalent – for their international expansion, growth potential, and overall contribution to reducing unemployment.

The Tech4Good award went to Notpla, for their mission to replace harmful packaging with organic alternatives, on a path to a more sustainable future, while the Digital Innovation in Art award was won by Wondeur, for successfully using digital technology to disrupt and innovate within the art field.

Hosted by global tech and investment advisory firm GP Bullhound, the Investor Allstars were a great reminder of the breadth and depth of the European tech landscape, and how the ecosystem has matured over the past few years.

Manish Madhvani, Managing Partner of GP Bullhound, reflected on the Awards: “It’s astonishing to see how the European tech sector has fast forwarded 5 years during the pandemic. It took 20 years from 2000-2020 for Europe’s cohort of its most successful tech companies to achieve a combined value of $400bn. In the past year alone $382bn was added. Almost 20 years of shareholder value in one pandemic year.”

Looking at the shortlist for the Awards, the winners were returning in excess of 100 times the original investment in household names such as Depop, The Hut Group, Auto 1, Cazoo, and UiPath.

Historically the winners have returned 10 times the original investment. We are also seeing a much deeper bench of senior talent amongst the entrepreneurs many are now on their second or third company. Many have already built global leaders before, and this allows companies to both disrupt and scale faster. We witnessed incredible growth from across Europe from companies such as Mollie, Jobandtalent, Global Processing Services, Element, Signavio, Elvie, Immersive labs and Bloom & Wild.

GP Bullhound has itself experienced tremendous growth, with 450% revenue growth from 2020 to 2021, $5bn of advisory transaction value delivered YTD and having just closed its fifth oversubscribed Fund of €300m. European tech has really reached an inflexion point that will allow it to rival the US and Asian markets.”

The evening also celebrated GP Bullhound’s support for Working Options in Education – an employability and life skills charity helping young people fulfil their potential, including supporting those facing challenges caused by the pandemic, and prioritising those from disadvantaged regions.

The ceremony was supported by key partners, including Astanor, Berenberg, Orrick, Wilson Sonsini, .Art, Bird & Bird, Bloomberg, Cooley, Httpool, Calibre One and Shoosmiths.

Last night’s gathering was about much more than just the handing out of prizes. Evenings like yesterday’s are a great moment to pause and take stock of all that’s been achieved in European tech.

Championing diversity, creativity, and ambition, Investor Allstars has now been running for nearly 20 years. Year-on year the event spotlights the strength and velocity of European tech, and serves as a valuable encouragement to the entrepreneurs of tomorrow.

It’s an exciting time for the tech industry in the UK, and Europe at large, and the Awards were a timely reminder of the opportunities at hand, and how the tech sector is set to fuel growth for years to come.