SPV Platforms in Europe: How SPVs Work and How Platforms Compare

What is an SPV?

A special purpose vehicle (SPV) is a company formed for one specific purpose. In venture capital, an SPV is most often used to pool money from a group of investors to make a single investment in one company. SPVs can also be used in other ways, for example to buy shares from existing shareholders (a secondary transaction) or to invest alongside a fund.

The deal lead (often called a syndicate lead) sources the investment opportunity, agrees an allocation with the company, and invites investors to take part. The allocation is the amount of the round that the company agrees to set aside for the deal lead’s investors. Each investor chooses how much to put in. The SPV then invests the pooled total, so the company has one shareholder on its cap table.

• One deal at a time. Investors decide on each deal individually. Unlike a fund, there is no blind pool, where investors commit money before they know which companies it will be invested in.
• One line on the cap table. The founder deals with one shareholder for signatures, consents and future funding rounds, instead of many individual investors.
• Fees are set for each deal. The deal lead typically can charge fees, such as management fees and carried interest. These fees are disclosed to investors before they commit.

In Europe, the term “SPV” is used more loosely. It can mean a newly formed company or partnership, or a nominee arrangement where one legal holder owns the shares on behalf of the investors. The structure affects tax treatment, investor rights and cost, so it is important to check which structure a platform uses.

Why syndicate leads and fund managers use SPVs

• Build a track record without raising a fund. Investing through SPVs, deal by deal, lets you show a record of real investments before you ask investors to commit money to a fund.
• Invest a larger amount together. Pooling many smaller investments lets a syndicate take a larger allocation than any single angel investor could on their own.
• Charge fees on each deal. Deal leads typically can charge fees, such as management fees and carried interest, and agree them separately for each deal.
• Take up pro rata rights. Pro rata rights allow an existing investor to invest in a company’s later funding rounds, so they can keep the same percentage ownership. An SPV lets a deal lead or fund manager bring in other investors to take up their full pro rata allocation.
• Run sidecars alongside a fund. A sidecar is a separate vehicle that invests alongside a main fund. Fund managers use SPVs as sidecars to invest more in a company than their fund’s limits allow, or to back deals that fall outside the fund’s mandate (the investment rules agreed with the fund’s investors).
• Make things simpler for founders. For a founder, one shareholder is much simpler to manage than 30 individual angel investors.

SPV vs nominee structure vs fund: which fits your deal?

Many platforms use the term “SPV” for both of the first two structures in this table.

As a general guide:

• A nominee structure suits deals where you want one line on the cap table, a quick set-up and low admin.
• A company or partnership SPV suits larger or more complex deals, or deals where investors or local tax rules need a separate legal entity.
• A fund suits fund managers who have a strategy, a pipeline of deals and investors who are ready to commit before they see each deal.

Tax treatment varies by structure and by each investor’s country, so investors should take their own tax advice.

How an SPV deal works, end to end

1. Secure the allocation. Agree with the company how much you can invest and on what terms.
2. Set up the deal. Create the deal on a platform and choose the vehicle. Then set the minimum investment, any fees you will charge, and who pays the platform fee.
3. Invite investors. Each investor reviews the deal materials and decides individually whether to invest.
4. Onboard and verify investors. Investors complete KYC and AML checks, which confirm their identity and check for money laundering. Depending on the platform, they may also complete an appropriateness test or self-certify as sophisticated or high net worth investors.
5. Collect commitments and payments. Investors accept the terms and send their funds. The money is usually held in a segregated or client money account until the deal closes.
6. Close the deal. The documents are signed, the funds go to the company, and the vehicle or nominee appears on the cap table.
7. Administer the investment until exit. The platform keeps records, issues tax documents, handles investor votes and distributes the proceeds when there is an exit, such as a sale of the company.

What an SPV costs and how long it takes

• Platform fee. This is usually a one-off fee: either a percentage of the amount raised, with a minimum, or a flat fee. Some platforms charge an annual fee instead.
• Add-ons. On some platforms, extra closes, non-euro currencies, notarised documents, secondary transfers and extra distributions cost more. Make sure you read the full fee schedule on any platform you use.
• Deal lead fees. Carried interest (often 10% to 20% of profits) and any management or deal fees are set by the deal lead, not by the platform.
• Who pays. Depending on the platform and the deal terms, fees are paid by the investors (in proportion to their investment), by the deal lead or by the company.

Published platform fee on a €250,000 deal with 20 investors. This uses headline pricing only, before VAT and add-ons. Please confirm the final fee with each provider.

Timelines

• Published set-up times range from the same day to about a week.
• After set-up, the time to close depends mostly on how quickly investors complete onboarding and send their funds. A deal with investors who are already verified can close within days.

What to look for in an SPV platform

We suggest asking these questions of any provider, including us. They also match the columns in the comparison table below.

1. What is regulated?Is the platform authorised itself, an appointed representative under another firm, registered for a different product, not regulated, or just operating on legal opinion? You can look the firm up on its regulator’s public register.
2. What structure holds the shares?It could be a new entity for each deal, a nominee or trust, or a contractual partnership. Ask who the legal owner of the shares is, and what happens to the holdings if the platform stops operating.
3. Where can you raise money, and from whom?Check which countries’ investors can join, whether non-professional investors are allowed, and whether there is a limit on the number of investors.
4. What does it cost in total?Look at the headline fee, the minimum and maximum, per-investor charges, annual fees, and charges for distributions, extra closes and currency conversion.
5. Who holds the money before the deal closes?Check whether it is held in a segregated, safeguarded or client money account, and with which regulated provider.
6. How long does the administration last?Some platforms administer the investment until exit, while others only cover a fixed number of years.
7. What do investors get?Look for features such as completing KYC once for all deals, a portfolio view, tax documents and regular reporting.
8. What do you get as a deal lead?Look for deal set-up, an investor CRM, carry and fee settings for each investor, and reporting.

SPV platforms compared: Shuttle, Roundtable, Odin, Bunch, Leva and AngelList

Last verified: October 2026. Prices exclude VAT unless stated otherwise. Fees and terms can change, so please confirm the details with each provider. The full list of sources is at the end of this guide.

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