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Catherine Lenson, Mish Mashkautsan and George Henry Hold Early Talks to Launch New UK Venture Fund After Leaving LocalGlobe

  • Writer: Shawn Jhanji
    Shawn Jhanji
  • Aug 13
  • 2 min read
A team of investors who left Phoenix Court, the London firm widely known by the name of its seed stage fund LocalGlobe, are in early talks to raise a fund of their own, Catherine Lenson, Mish Mashkautsan and George Henry left the firm earlier this year. No target size, sector focus or timeline for a first close has yet been made public but for founders raising in the UK, every emerging manager who strikes out on their own effectively creates a fresh entry point onto the map of who might say yes, particularly for the earliest and hardest to place rounds. The story matters less for headline numbers, which are not yet public, and more for what it represents: another crack in the assumption that UK seed capital only flows through the same handful of established names. LocalGlobe itself has seen a wave of senior departures this year as it works toward closing its latest fund, and the emergence of alumni led vehicles is a familiar pattern in UK venture, where investors who cut their teeth at platforms with strong track records frequently go on to start their own firms, often carrying forward both a network and an investment philosophy shaped by their former employer. If Lenson, Mashkautsan and Henry do formalise a new firm, it will add to a lengthening list of emerging UK managers formed by departing partners this year, a trend this publication has tracked as part of a broader shift in how the earliest capital is sourced and deployed. The presence of more, smaller, founder facing funds run by first time managers is one of the more concrete ways the funding gap for underrepresented and regionally dispersed founders narrows in practice, even if progress is incremental and unglamorous compared with headline mega funds.

A team of investors who left Phoenix Court, the London firm widely known by the name of its seed stage fund LocalGlobe, are in early talks to raise a fund of their own,


Catherine Lenson, Mish Mashkautsan and George Henry left the firm earlier this year. No target size, sector focus or timeline for a first close has yet been made public but for founders raising in the UK, every emerging manager who strikes out on their own effectively creates a fresh entry point onto the map of who might say yes, particularly for the earliest and hardest to place rounds.


The story matters less for headline numbers, which are not yet public, and more for what it represents: another crack in the assumption that UK seed capital only flows through the same handful of established names.


LocalGlobe itself has seen a wave of senior departures this year as it works toward closing its latest fund, and the emergence of alumni led vehicles is a familiar pattern in UK venture, where investors who cut their teeth at platforms with strong track records frequently go on to start their own firms, often carrying forward both a network and an investment philosophy shaped by their former employer.


If Lenson, Mashkautsan and Henry do formalise a new firm, it will add to a lengthening list of emerging UK managers formed by departing partners this year, a trend this publication has tracked as part of a broader shift in how the earliest capital is sourced and deployed. The presence of more, smaller, founder facing funds run by first time managers is one of the more concrete ways the funding gap for underrepresented and regionally dispersed founders narrows in practice, even if progress is incremental and unglamorous compared with headline mega funds.


Key Takeaways


  • Catherine Lenson, Mish Mashkautsan and George Henry, who left Phoenix Court (LocalGlobe) earlier in 2026, are in early talks to raise their own fund, Sifted reports.

  • No fund size, sector focus or timeline has been confirmed publicly.

  • The move continues a pattern of alumni led fund formation in UK venture, often expanding the roster of managers founders can approach.

  • Emerging manager formation is treated as a first class Pillar 3 story here because it changes who founders can access, not just how much capital exists in aggregate.


Sources


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