Ocean 14 Capital
Ocean 14 Capital is a London-based private equity growth firm managing a €200 million fund that invests exclusively in the blue economy, targeting late-stage venture and growth-stage companies across sustainable aquaculture, fisheries, circular plastics, marine flora, and natural capital, with a 15%+ net return target measured alongside SDG 14 impact.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Ocean 14 Capital does
Ocean 14 Capital is a London-based private equity growth firm founded in 2019 that invests exclusively in the blue economy. It manages Ocean 14 Capital Fund I, a €200 million vehicle (reached hard cap in May 2024), targeting late-stage venture and early-stage growth companies across five verticals: sustainable aquaculture, alternatives to fish protein, sustainable fisheries, marine flora/seaweed, and circular plastics. The firm's revenue model is standard private equity: management fees plus carried interest on Fund I, with a target of 15%+ net returns. As an Appointed Representative of Langham Hall Fund Management LLP, it operates under FCA regulation, available only to Professional Investors within the UK.
The firm employs a proprietary "Net Impact Value" methodology to measure both financial and environmental performance against SDG 14 (Life Below Water). Its competitive positioning rests on three pillars: co-founders Chris Gorell Barnes and George Duffield (also co-founders of Blue Marine Foundation), partnership with Pontos Aqua for aquaculture deal flow and Vedra Partners for capital markets access, and a founding team with 65+ years of combined finance and industry experience (notably Max Gottschalk, who previously co-founded Gottex Fund Management to $16bn AUM). The active portfolio comprises 15 companies including Syaqua (shrimp genetics), The Kingfish Company (RAS yellowtail), Ava Ocean (low-impact seabed harvesting), Bureo (fishing net recycling), aquaManager (aquaculture software), AquaExchange (IoT aquaculture), Sofar Ocean (marine sensing), and goodcarbon (carbon credits). The firm became the first blue economy-focused impact investment adviser to achieve B Corp certification in February 2024.
The fund's go-to-market is relationship-led and community-driven: deal sourcing flows through the Pontos Aqua / Blue Marine Foundation network, with fundraising targeting institutional and family-office LPs (Nestlé, European Investment Fund, Chr. Augustinus Fabrikker, Builders Initiative, Minderoo Foundation, Ingka Investments, Constitutional Reserve Fund of Monaco). Portfolio support combines equity capital with strategy and operations services, aiming to transform late-stage ocean businesses into data-led, technology-enabled, circular, and regenerative platforms with four documented exit paths (MBO, trade sale, PE buyout, IPO). Operating geographies span Europe, Southeast Asia, India, the Americas (Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Argentina, Peru, Mexico, USA), Madagascar, and Saudi Arabia.
Ocean 14 Capital firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Ocean 14 Capital
- Legal name
- Ocean 14 Capital Limited
- Website
- https://ocean14capital.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Ocean 14 Capital is a London-based private equity growth firm managing a €200 million fund that invests exclusively in the blue economy, targeting late-stage venture and growth-stage companies across sustainable aquaculture, fisheries, circular plastics, marine flora, and natural capital, with a 15%+ net return target measured alongside SDG 14 impact.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Ocean 14 Capital industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Private Equity / Impact Investment
- NAICS
- Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Other Financial Investment Activities (5239)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Environmental & Resource Efficiency Funds (Water, Waste, Recycling, Efficiency) (FSANAEAE)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Sustainable Private Markets (Impact PE/VC, Private Credit, Infrastructure) (FSAAALAG)
Keywords
Where Ocean 14 Capital is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Ocean 14 Capital business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Private Equity Fund Management: Ocean 14 Capital operates as a private equity impact investment fund generating returns through equity investments in blue economy companies. The fund targets 15%+ net returns while measuring environmental impact. Revenue is generated from management fees and carried interest on fund returns.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
Ocean 14 Capital product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Ocean 14 Capital manages a private equity growth fund (Ocean 14 Capital Fund I, €200 million hard cap) that makes direct equity investments in late-stage venture and early-stage growth companies operating across the blue economy. The firm targets five verticals—Sustainable Aquaculture, Alternatives to Fish Protein, Sustainable Fisheries, Marine Flora/Seaweed, and Circular Plastics—and transforms portfolio companies into data-led, technology-enabled, circular, and regenerative industrial-scale platforms while generating 15%+ net returns. Beyond capital, Ocean 14 Capital provides value-add strategy, operations, and on-call support services to portfolio management teams.
Product overview
Ocean 14 Capital is a private equity growth firm focused on the blue economy, not a product company with a unified platform. The firm manages a portfolio of 15 portfolio companies across five strategic verticals: Sustainable Aquaculture (Syaqua, Tilabras, MITO, The Kingfish Company, AquaExchange, aquaManager, KIME Akva, WellFish Tech, Enthos), Sustainable Fisheries (Ava Ocean), Circular Plastics (AION, NovelPlast, Bureo), Marine Flora/Seaweed, and Natural Capital (goodcarbon, Sofar Ocean). Key technology-focused portfolio companies include aquaManager (comprehensive aquaculture management software with IoT and AI), AquaExchange (technology platform with patented IoT devices for shrimp and fish farming), goodcarbon (AI-powered Nature Analytics Framework for carbon credits), and Sofar Ocean (Spotter marine sensing platform and Wayfinder voyage optimization). These companies collectively address food security, marine ecosystem protection, and ocean sustainability across the global blue economy valued at €2.5 trillion in annual output.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Ocean 14 Capital Fund I Private equity growth fund that invests directly in late-stage venture and early-stage growth SMEs operating in the blue economy across five verticals: Sustainable Aquaculture, Alternatives to Fish Protein, Sustainable Fisheries, Marine Flora/Seaweed, and Circular Plastics. The fund targets 15%+ net returns and provides capital alongside value-add strategy, operations, and on-call support services to transform portfolio companies into data-led, technology-enabled, circular, and regenerative industrial-scale platforms. Available to Professional Investors within the United Kingdom.
- Investment Advisory and Fund Management Services FCA-regulated investment advisory and fund management services delivered by Ocean 14 Capital Limited to the Fund I vehicle, including deal sourcing, due diligence, execution, portfolio asset management, value-add strategic and operational support to portfolio companies, impact measurement, and reporting to limited partners.
Quantifiable outcome
- Fund targets 15%+ net returns while measuring environmental impact
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Ocean 14 Capital
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Ocean 14 Capital technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability10 records
Feature1 record
Ocean 14 Capital partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Blue Marine FoundationcoreOcean 14 Capital partners with two co-founders of the UK's Blue Marine Foundation, a globally significant marine conservation NGO leading attempts to reduce overfishing and regenerate ocean health. The partnership provides unparalleled access to proprietary deal flow, industry knowledge, government relationships, operational experience, and academic research.
- Pontos AquacoreProvides access to industry and specialized intermediaries, and one of the largest deal flows in the aquaculture industry. Pontos Aqua offers deep industry knowledge and relationships essential for identifying and evaluating investment opportunities.
- Vedra PartnerscoreProvides access to global capital markets and top investment banks, facilitating deal flow and exit opportunities for the fund's portfolio companies.
- Aker BioMarineminorAION is a spinoff of Aker BioMarine focused on plastic circularity. AION has signed a memorandum of understanding with Microsoft to explore joint innovation in digital traceability of circular plastic products.
- MicrosoftminorAION (portfolio company) has signed MoU with Microsoft Norway to explore opportunities for joint innovation and co-selling related to digital traceability of circular plastic products.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Ocean 14 Capital competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Builders Initiative: Impact investor backing ocean health and sustainability; existing LP and thematic peer in blue-economy impact investing.
- Aqua-Spark: Dutch impact investment fund dedicated to sustainable aquaculture; closest direct comparable as a sector-specialist fund investing across the aquaculture value chain.
- S2G Investments: Food and agriculture impact PE firm that co-invested with Ocean 14 in Enthos; comparable as a thesis-driven growth-equity investor in food system transformation.
- Pontos Aqua: Aquaculture-focused private equity vehicle of Pontos Capital; Ocean 14's strategic partner and a near-direct peer in aquaculture growth investing.
- Circulate Capital: Investment firm dedicated to preventing ocean plastic pollution; highly comparable thematic PE peer overlapping Ocean 14's circular plastics vertical.
- Minderoo Foundation's Flourishing Ocean: Strategic partner and LP; deploys philanthropic and impact capital into ocean regeneration, partially overlapping Ocean 14's blue-economy investment thesis.
Broad incumbents
- Althelia Sustainable Planet Fund: Larger environmental impact fund (now under Mirova Natural Capital) investing in sustainable oceans, agriculture and forestry; broader incumbent operating in an overlapping thematic universe.
- KKR Global Impact: Broad incumbent impact fund; offers scale, multi-thematic mandate and a portfolio approach that contrasts with Ocean 14's specialist, ocean-only focus.
Emerging players
- Cibus Fund (ADM Capital): Sustainable private equity and credit group that backs food and agriculture businesses including aquaculture; a comparable emerging player in adjacent sustainable resource themes.
Regional players
- Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund: Impact fund focused on smallholder agriculture and aquaculture in emerging markets; thematically adjacent with regional focus rather than a global blue-economy mandate.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Ocean 14 Capital social profiles
Digital presenceOcean 14 Capital compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Ocean 14 Capital financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Ocean 14 Capital leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles16 records
Ocean 14 Capital funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Ocean 14 Capital M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments9 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Ocean 14 Capital
What does Ocean 14 Capital do?
Ocean 14 Capital manages a private equity growth fund (Ocean 14 Capital Fund I, €200 million hard cap) that makes direct equity investments in late-stage venture and early-stage growth companies operating across the blue economy. The firm targets five verticals—Sustainable Aquaculture, Alternatives to Fish Protein, Sustainable Fisheries, Marine Flora/Seaweed, and Circular Plastics—and transforms portfolio companies into data-led, technology-enabled, circular, and regenerative industrial-scale platforms while generating 15%+ net returns. Beyond capital, Ocean 14 Capital provides value-add strategy, operations, and on-call support services to portfolio management teams.
Is Ocean 14 Capital a public or private company?
Ocean 14 Capital is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Ocean 14 Capital founded?
Ocean 14 Capital was founded in 2019. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Ocean 14 Capital based?
Ocean 14 Capital is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Ocean 14 Capital make money?
One revenue line is on record: private Equity Fund Management.
Who are Ocean 14 Capital's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Builders Initiative, Aqua-Spark, S2G Investments, Pontos Aqua, Circulate Capital and Minderoo Foundation's Flourishing Ocean. Broad incumbents are Althelia Sustainable Planet Fund and KKR Global Impact. Cibus Fund (ADM Capital) is listed as an emerging player. Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund is listed as a regional player.
Does Ocean 14 Capital have an API?
No public API is recorded for Ocean 14 Capital.
What industry is Ocean 14 Capital in?
Ocean 14 Capital's product category is Private Equity / Impact Investment. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAEAE, Environmental & Resource Efficiency Funds (Water, Waste, Recycling, Efficiency), with a secondary code of FSAAALAG, Sustainable Private Markets (Impact PE/VC, Private Credit, Infrastructure). Its NAICS code is 523940 and its SIC code is 6282.