A private equity fund, supported by Edmond de Rothschild and British Patient Capital, has raised €266m (£225m) to invest in software-as-a-service (SaaS) firms across Europe.

The new fund, Kennet VI, managed by London-based Kennet, has already begun deploying capital. Among its initial investments is Screendragon, a workflow management software provider with offices in London and Ireland.

Edmond de Rothschild, a principal investor in the fund, offers priority access to the bank’s clientele. Other commitments have come from British Patient Capital, Federated Hermes Private Equity, and Bpifrance.

Kennet, a private equity firm, has achieved several successful exits in recent years, including the UK-based software company CrossBorder Solutions. Kennet focuses on established, high-growth B2B SaaS technology companies that are founder-owned and either highly capital efficient or built without external capital.

Typically, Kennet’s investment is the first external funding these companies receive, used to scale up, expand internationally, and build management teams.

Michael Elias, Managing Director, Kennett Partners, said: “This fundraise marks another important milestone for Kennet as we close our largest fund to date, with a significant number of previous investors participating in this fund. At a time when the market has recognised that ‘growth at any cost’ is no longer rational, our long-standing conservative strategy has appealed to investors.”