BVCA Report on Investment Activity 2024 (BVCA (UK Private Capital))

Summary

• Total UK led private capital fundraising in 2024 reached £33.1bn raised across 127 funds.p.5
• Total equity amount of UK led investment increased by 46% year-on-year to £46bn, backing 1,956 companies.p.5
• UK led buyout investment rose 68% year-on-year to £34bn, with mega buyouts comprising approximately 58% of the buyout market.p.5
• Venture capital investment surged by 37% year-on-year for UK led investments to £5.1bn and by 50% for UK company investments to £5bn.p.5
• Growth capital investments dropped year-on-year by 13% for UK led investments (£6.3bn) and 18% for UK company investments (£3.8bn).p.5
• Total divestments at cost reached £15.49bn for UK led exits (685 companies) and £8.85bn for UK company exits (618 companies).p.5

Key insights

1. Pension funds served as the largest institutional investor in UK buyout funds, contributing 23% of total buyout fundraising.p.5
2. Institutional investors located outside the UK provided 63% (£21bn) of total fundraising, while UK domestic investors contributed 17% (£5.6bn).p.8
3. Later-stage venture investment in UK companies recorded a 70% year-on-year increase by amount invested.p.5
4. Overseas private equity and venture capital firms invested £16.42bn into UK portfolio companies in 2024.p.36
5. London-based portfolio companies received 48.2% of total UK private capital investment amount by market statistics.p.41
6. SMEs with fewer than 250 employees constituted the vast majority of investment targets across all UK regions, including 89% in London.p.42
7. The ICT sector captured the largest single share of UK industry investments by amount at 36.4% and by company count at 36.5%.p.31
8. Sale to another private equity firm was the largest divestment exit route by cost, representing 45.5% of total exit amounts.p.51