Options to combine public and private capital need to be strengthened to create a "better bridge" between pension funds and growth companies in Denmark and Europe, Insurance and Pension Denmark (I&P Denmark) CEO, Kent Damsgaard, has said. 

The comments were made alongside the launch of a new report from I&P Denmark and the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI), which outlines four key proposals designed to help lift and develop Danish growth companies. 

In particular, the report called for more flexible financing options for start-ups, new models that build bridges between large investors and growth companies, a better framework for investments in socially critical sectors, and for more capital for corporate loans to be freed up. 

It suggested that these are solutions that can be implemented "here and now",  and help both the companies and the pension companies that want to invest in them. 

And the duo emphasised the urgency of these changes, noting that while Denmark has created 13  entrepreneurial companies – so-called unicorns – that have been built from scratch to a market value of over USD 1bn since 200, nine of these have since left Denmark in search of venture capital

Given this, F&P and DI called on the government and the EU to take the overall proposal as a starting point and act quickly so that Denmark can maintain its position as an entrepreneurial nation and create more global growth successes.

"Danish pension companies manage one of the world's largest pension assets, which can and must be invested with an eye on the best possible return for the Danes," Damsgaard said. 

"We see clear potential for investing even more in new growth opportunities. But this requires that the possibilities for combining public and private capital are politically strengthened, so that a better bridge is built from institutional investors such as pension companies to the growth companies that we would like to help to succeed at home in Denmark and Europe."

Adding to this, DI political director, Morten Høyer, said: "Denmark and the rest of Europe cannot continue to lose successful growth companies and thus also valuable jobs to the USA in particular. 

"We must have secured far more risk capital to build the industries of the future on European soil. When we propose these public-private models, it is about picking up the pace. 

"We simply cannot wait for the market to do it by itself. Action is needed now - it is crucial for our prosperity, competitiveness and security."

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