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Private equity and venture capital

Leading global competitors in venture capital & private equity

The UK's offer

  • The UK is Europe’s leading centre for VC and PE, capturing almost a third of all VC investment in Europe in 2020
  • Half of Europe's top ten fintech deals were in the UK in 2021
  • The UK is home to a concentration of tech, fintech, artificial intelligence and other fast-growing sectors that provide excellent investment targets
  • Over 1m people work for UK companies which have been backed by private equity and venture capital investors
  • The UK is the biggest unicorn hub in Europe

A dynamic investment environment

The UK, with its culture of innovation and partnership, deep pools of expertise and dynamic ecosystem is the ideal environment for the innovative startups and growth company opportunities that venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) firms need.

The UK is home to a huge pool of both early-stage and mature businesses in the UK, providing a rich source of investment targets. It has grown to be Europe's leading centre for VC.

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An active market

The UK is the biggest unicorn hub in Europe, with 153 futurecorns. Even during a challenging year due to the global pandemic, more than 1,300 UK companies received £9.5bn in investment in 2020. 9 in 10 of these were directed at SMEs, and the number of UK companies receiving investment is on the rise.

Read more from the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association

Europe's leading magnet for venture capital investment

UK tech continues to outperform its European neighbours. Hitting a record high of $15bn in 2020, it raised more venture capital investment than Germany and France combined.

Hitting a record high of $15bn in 2020, UK tech raised more venture capital investment than Germany and France combined.

$585bn

in valuation for the UK’s tech startup and scaleup ecosystem, more than double the next most valuable ecosystem in Europe (Germany at $291bn)

5

of Europe’s top ten fintech deals were in the UK in 2019.

Over 550

UK companies successfully exited in 2020

Compelling investment opportunities

Tech unicorns, dynamic fintech firms and cutting edge AI developers - all key targets for venture capital and private equity - are concentrated in the UK. London is the leading destination to grow a technology business outside of Silicon Valley, home to 2,183 fintech companies, more than New York or San Francisco  

Of Europe’s 268 unicorns. 71 have their home in London. This makes the UK’s capital by far the biggest unicorn hub in Europe, and the fourth biggest in the world
 

Healthy returns

14.6% since-inception returns generated for pension funds and other investors by UK private equity and venture capital

Healthy returns

Momentum in the market

UK VCs have record levels of dry powder ready to deploy in 2021 and beyond, having raised $14bn in 2019 and 2020 alone

Momentum in the market

Successful divestments

Over 550 companies were successfully exited in 2020, a 10% increase on the previous year

Successful divestments

Partner story

Ship Shape

Ship Shape

Partner story

TMW Pay

TMW Pay

Podcast

Spotlight on Innovation

Spotlight on Innovation

Webinar

UK Fintech: Fundraising and Covid-19 Webinar

UK Fintech: Fundraising and Covid-19 Webinar

See more case studies

Everything you need

The UK offers you everything you need to grow your business.

We have a global outlook, which means we understand your business needs. The depth and breadth of our offer mean unparalleled opportunities for you to grow. Innovation is what we do - creating an inspirational ecosystem where you can thrive. 

Choose the UK

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