Venture Capital in the UK (British Private Capital Council (BVCA))

Summary

• £9bn was invested into UK venture-backed businesses last year, maintaining the UK as the third largest VC market in the world, behind only the US and China.p.3
• Investment of circa £9bn in 2024 is a £1bn or 12.5% increase compared to the previous year.p.7
• UK-managed VC funds delivered a 10-year horizon IRR of 11% p.a., versus 5.3% and 7.5% for the FTSE All Share Index and MSCI Europe Index.p.5
• The UK attracted $4.2bn of VC and growth investment in deeptech in 2024, leading Europe.p.10

Key insights

1. Companies at early stage make up circa 85% of all venture-backed companies in 2024.p.7
2. For later-stage companies the amount invested increased 70% year-on-year, while seed-stage investment increased over 80%.p.7
3. The number of companies receiving seed-stage investment increased 30%.p.7
4. 36% of people employed in VC-backed entities work in information and communication, representing 137,000 jobs.p.9
5. The BVCA proposes a NOVA accreditation scheme to match pension funds with private capital funds, emulating the French Tibi scheme.p.15
6. 31% of VC investment professionals in the UK are women, but only 16% of Investment Committee members.p.17
7. NSSIF currently receives £100m annually to invest across its programmes.p.10
8. The BVCA Model Documents have been viewed over 68,400 times since their relaunch in February 2023.p.19