Ex-LocalGlobe investors are reportedly exploring a new VC fund

Catherine Lenson, Mish Mashkautsan and George Henry, three former Phoenix Court investors, are in early talks to raise a fund under an ex-LocalGlobe new VC firm plan, according to sources cited by Sifted. The report describes preliminary fundraising discussions, not a launched firm or a completed raise, and gives no fund size, target close or investment strategy.

The three left Phoenix Court earlier in 2026. Their departures were confirmed in May by Phoenix Court, which told Pathfounders that Lenson, Henry, Mashkautsan and a fourth investor, Julian Rowe, were making mutual and amicable transitions from the firm.

Pathfounders identified Lenson, Henry and Mashkautsan as general partners at Phoenix Court. Rowe was a general partner on Latitude, one of Phoenix Court's investment vehicles. Phoenix Court said at the time that it was grateful for the departing investors' contributions and wished them well.

What is known about the reported new VC firm?

Sifted's August 12 report says the trio are in early talks to raise their own fund. That is the extent of the reported plan in the available account. No name for a management company or fund has been reported, and there is no disclosed fundraising target, limited-partner roster, legal entity, launch timetable or sector and stage thesis.

The supplied Sifted report excerpt includes no statement from the trio or Phoenix Court. It also does not say whether fundraising has formally started or whether the investors have already made investments together. Those distinctions matter in venture fundraising, where exploratory discussions may not result in a first close or an operating firm.

How are LocalGlobe and Phoenix Court connected?

Phoenix Court is the wider venture platform that includes LocalGlobe, its pre-seed and seed fund. LocalGlobe changed its name to Phoenix Court Group in 2022 after a $500 million fund close, according to Crunchbase News and Business Insider. The group said it operated separate vehicles including LocalGlobe, early-growth investor Latitude, scale-up fund Solar and Basecamp, which backs emerging seed managers.

That earlier $500 million raise belongs to Phoenix Court's platform and is not capital for the prospective fund reported by Sifted. Likewise, Phoenix Court's established multi-vehicle structure provides context for the investors' former employer, rather than evidence of the new fund's mandate or financing.

For now, the confirmed event is the trio's exit from Phoenix Court. The potential next step, according to Sifted's reporting, is an early effort to assemble a new fund. Whether that effort becomes a formally announced firm remains unreported.

This story draws on original reporting from Sifted.