Swedish VC firm Kinnevik writes off Monese investment in full
Swedish investment group Kinnevik says it has written off “the entire carrying value” of its investment in UK fintech Monese.
Kinnevik writes off investment in Monese
The group has owned 21% of Monese since leading its $60 million Series B back in 2018. But as per its Q4 2023 report, the investor says it has “sought to make large write-downs or write-offs in our portfolio’s long-tail of companies where our conviction has come down”, a move that includes “a full write-off of Monese”.
“In this quarter, we have written off the entire carrying value of our investment in Monese,” the report says. “While there is still significant value in the company, the nature of our participation in its future is uncertain. This is what underpins our decision to write off our investment in full.”
Describing 2023 as “a challenging year”, Georgi Ganev, CEO of Kinnevik, says the firm has now “doubled down in our highest-conviction companies” in the hope of creating “a stronger and more concentrated portfolio”.
As for Monese, the fintech is hoping to attract more funding in 2024 after recording a £30.5 million loss for the 2022 financial year.
In its recently published accounts for the year to 31 December 2022, group founder and CEO Norris Koppel said the firm “is reliant on access to sufficient amounts of new funding to finance its current operations and growth plans”.
Speaking to FinTech Futures, a Monese spokesperson says it has begun 2024 “in a positive position on the back of strong performance in 2023 which saw continued revenue growth, and losses reducing from £30.5 million in 2022 to low single-digit millions”.
“The group’s current funding requirements are low as it approaches profitability in the near term. We are confident that we will be able to raise these funds in the short term, given recent discussions with new investors and supportive existing shareholders,” the spokesperson adds.
