Swen Capital Partners has raised €50 million more than expected for its Blue Ocean Fund and declared the fund the world's largest venture capital vehicle investing in ocean regeneration.

Swen said it had raised €170 million, outstripping the original €120 million target, and that 85% of funding came from pension funds and other institutions, including banking group Crédit Mutuel Arkéa and Bpifrance, the French public investment bank.

The impact fund invests in unlisted start-ups working to improve ocean health by tackling threats such as overfishing, pollution and climate change, said the firm, which has €7.7 billion of assets under management.

The Blue Ocean Fund was launched in 2021 in partnership with French research institute Ifremer to finance companies working on sustainable aquaculture, ocean data, plant and cell-based seafood, plastic alternatives, renewable marine energies and decarbonisation of maritime transport.

To date, the fund has made nine investments in various companies, including providers of eco-friendly in-water hull cleaning services for ships, reusable packaging services, motorisation and real-time fish biomass measurement.

Jérôme Delmas, CEO of Swen Capital Partners, said: "With this final closing, Blue Ocean is propelled to the forefront and becomes the world's largest fund dedicated to innovation in marine health."

Highlighting the role of ocean impact investing in restoring the planet-people relationship, Christian Lim, managing director of the fund, said: "Our fund provides investors with the opportunity to support unique companies that help tackle the climate and biodiversity crisis at a systems level while targeting competitive market returns."

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