# Harry Briggs
Harry Briggs is a British venture capital investor who co-founded BGF Ventures and OMERS Ventures Europe, and who is best known for sourcing investments in The Hut Group (THG), Revolut, and GoCardless while a Principal at Balderton Capital.[1](https://www.forbes.com/profile/harry-briggs/) • [2](https://astanor.com/team/harry-briggs/) He appeared on the Forbes Midas List Europe in 2017, and since January 2024 he has been a Partner at [Astanor Ventures](https://www.edgepedia.org/astanor-ventures), a European impact investor.[1](https://www.forbes.com/profile/harry-briggs/) • [2](https://astanor.com/team/harry-briggs/)
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Current role | Partner, Astanor Ventures, since January 2024[2](https://astanor.com/team/harry-briggs/) |
| Earlier roles | Co-founder of BGF Ventures (£200M fund) and Managing Partner of OMERS Ventures Europe; previously Principal at Balderton Capital[1](https://www.forbes.com/profile/harry-briggs/) • [2](https://astanor.com/team/harry-briggs/) • [4](https://medium.com/omers-ventures/celebrating-pride-q-a-with-managing-partner-harry-briggs-5caaafd0ccdf) |
| Education | BA, Oxford University (Psychology, matriculated 1995)[1](https://www.forbes.com/profile/harry-briggs/) • [5](https://www.univ.ox.ac.uk/news/univ-entrepreneurs-harry-briggs/) |
| Notable investments | THG, Revolut, GoCardless, Lyst, Magic Pony, Paddle, Gousto, Touch Surgery, Appear Here, WeFox, Deliverect, Flagstone[1](https://www.forbes.com/profile/harry-briggs/) • [2](https://astanor.com/team/harry-briggs/) • [3](https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/25/omers-ventures-europe/) |
| Recognition | Forbes Midas List Europe 2017[1](https://www.forbes.com/profile/harry-briggs/) |
| Other | Founding board advisor to Diversity.vc; runs a farm in Buckinghamshire[4](https://medium.com/omers-ventures/celebrating-pride-q-a-with-managing-partner-harry-briggs-5caaafd0ccdf) • [2](https://astanor.com/team/harry-briggs/) |
## Early career and Firefly Tonics
Briggs started his career at McKinsey, then spent the rest of his twenties as co-founder of Firefly Tonics, a health-drinks brand.[2](https://astanor.com/team/harry-briggs/) He matriculated at [University College, Oxford](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-college-oxford) in 1995 and took a BA in [Psychology](https://www.edgepedia.org/psychology).[5](https://www.univ.ox.ac.uk/news/univ-entrepreneurs-harry-briggs/)
Firefly grew quickly before the financial crisis: by 2007 the company was selling millions of bottles in 35 countries.[5](https://www.univ.ox.ac.uk/news/univ-entrepreneurs-harry-briggs/) After the 2008 crisis the company had to cut costs fast; Briggs has said the team was halved and he stepped away from the business.[5](https://www.univ.ox.ac.uk/news/univ-entrepreneurs-harry-briggs/) His account states that his business partner nursed Firefly back to growth and sold it to private equity in 2011.[5](https://www.univ.ox.ac.uk/news/univ-entrepreneurs-harry-briggs/) Other sources, including [TechCrunch](https://www.edgepedia.org/techcrunch) and TechRound, describe the sale to private equity firm Langholm Capital without giving a date.[3](https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/25/omers-ventures-europe/) • [6](https://techround.co.uk/interviews/harry-briggs-managing-partner-at-omers-ventures/)
## Balderton Capital
Briggs spent six years at Balderton Capital, one of Europe's established venture firms, joining after the Firefly sale and leaving in 2015; Forbes describes him as having been a Principal there.[1](https://www.forbes.com/profile/harry-briggs/) • [4](https://medium.com/omers-ventures/celebrating-pride-q-a-with-managing-partner-harry-briggs-5caaafd0ccdf) In his own account he initiated investments in The Hut Group, Revolut, GoCardless, Lyst, Touch Surgery, Magic Pony, and Appear Here.[4](https://medium.com/omers-ventures/celebrating-pride-q-a-with-managing-partner-harry-briggs-5caaafd0ccdf) Astanor's profile says he sourced "mega-deals" including Revolut, GoCardless, and THG at Balderton.[2](https://astanor.com/team/harry-briggs/)
The deal that anchors his reputation is The Hut Group, a UK e-commerce company. Forbes records THG as valued at more than $3 billion in August 2017.[1](https://www.forbes.com/profile/harry-briggs/) Magic Pony, a London-based technology company, was acquired by Twitter in 2016.[3](https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/25/omers-ventures-europe/)
## BGF Ventures and the £200 million mandate
In 2015 Briggs left Balderton to join BGF Ventures, the venture arm of Business Growth Fund, which allocated £200 million to invest in European startups.[1](https://www.forbes.com/profile/harry-briggs/) Astanor's bio describes BGF Ventures as a £200M UK-focused fund that he co-founded, and says he backed unicorns Paddle and [Gousto](https://www.edgepedia.org/gousto) there.[2](https://astanor.com/team/harry-briggs/) By 2017 BGF Ventures had made more than 18 investments, including a seed investment in Streetbees announced in March 2017 and an investment in the parenting app Hoop announced in September 2017.[1](https://www.forbes.com/profile/harry-briggs/)
His time at BGF ended sooner than planned. TechCrunch reported in March 2019 that his BGF tenure "ended rather abruptly due to 'strategic changes'" at the UK firm.[3](https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/25/omers-ventures-europe/)
## OMERS Ventures Europe, 2018–2024
Briggs then joined OMERS Ventures, the venture arm of the Canadian pension fund OMERS, as Managing Partner.[3](https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/25/omers-ventures-europe/) In March 2019 OMERS officially launched a €300 million fund aimed at European technology startups, headed by Briggs. The fund typically invested €5 million to €10 million per round, targeting Series A to B companies, with capacity to follow on in later rounds.[3](https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/25/omers-ventures-europe/) Astanor's bio states that at OMERS Ventures Europe he built the team that led investments such as WeFox (Germany), [Deliverect](https://www.edgepedia.org/deliverect) (Belgium), and Flagstone (UK).[2](https://astanor.com/team/harry-briggs/)
## Notable investments and exits: by the numbers
Across two co-founded funds the record is quantified as follows. BGF Ventures operated a £200 million UK-focused fund with more than 18 investments by 2017; OMERS Ventures Europe was a €300 million fund launched in March 2019.[1](https://www.forbes.com/profile/harry-briggs/) • [3](https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/25/omers-ventures-europe/) Exits credited to his deal-sourcing include Magic Pony's acquisition by Twitter in 2016.[3](https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/25/omers-ventures-europe/) THG was valued at more than $3 billion in August 2017 according to Forbes.[1](https://www.forbes.com/profile/harry-briggs/)
## Recognition and public positions
Briggs appeared on the Forbes Midas List Europe in 2017.[1](https://www.forbes.com/profile/harry-briggs/) He describes himself as a founding board advisor and champion of Diversity.vc, an initiative to bring more women and under-represented minorities into European venture capital and entrepreneurship, and as a regular speaker on LGBTQ forums including Economist Pride & [Prejudice](https://www.edgepedia.org/prejudice) and EurOut.[4](https://medium.com/omers-ventures/celebrating-pride-q-a-with-managing-partner-harry-briggs-5caaafd0ccdf)
## References
1. Harry Briggs - Forbes Midas List Europe profile, https://www.forbes.com/profile/harry-briggs/
2. Harry Briggs - Astanor team page, https://astanor.com/team/harry-briggs/
3. OMERS Ventures outs €300M European fund — Q&A with Managing Partner Harry Briggs (TechCrunch, 25 March 2019), https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/25/omers-ventures-europe/
4. Celebrating Pride: Q&A with Managing Partner Harry Briggs - OMERS Ventures (Medium), https://medium.com/omers-ventures/celebrating-pride-q-a-with-managing-partner-harry-briggs-5caaafd0ccdf
5. Univ entrepreneurs: Harry Briggs - University College Oxford, https://www.univ.ox.ac.uk/news/univ-entrepreneurs-harry-briggs/
6. Interview with Harry Briggs, Managing Partner at OMERS Ventures - TechRound, https://techround.co.uk/interviews/harry-briggs-managing-partner-at-omers-ventures/
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Economics and business › Founders, operators, and investors › Venture and growth investors › European venture › UK and Ireland investors*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license