Record levels of equity investment in smaller UK businesses in 2021
£18.1bn
of equity invested into the UK's smaller businesses in 2021 - almost double its 2020 level
88%
increase in equity investment into UK smaller businesses in 2021 compared to 2020, the highest annual growth since 2011
2,616
announced deals in 2021, 17% more than 2020
£7.6bn
of equity investment in Q1 2022, the highest amount in a single quarter
UK tech investment soars
£8.2bn
invested into UK tech companies in 2021, up from £4.1bn in 2020
£1.7bn
invested into the life sciences sector, an increase of 100%
£4.8bn
invested into software deals, more than double the £2.3bn invested in 2020
30%
increase in the number of clean tech deals relative to 2020, with £436m invested in 2021
The venture capital market in the UK versus Europe and the US
The UK retains its position as the largest Venture Capital market in Europe in 2021, larger than France and Germany combined
Despite the UK being the European leader in Venture Capital by amount of VC investment, it still lags behind the US
Overseas investment into the UK continues to grow
753
deals involved an overseas investor in 2021, 58% higher than 2020
The value of deals that involved an overseas investor was £13.5bn in 2021, equivalent to 75% of the total equity invested in the year
The British Business Bank effect
18%
of all announced UK equity deals in 2021 were supported by the Bank
47%
of Bank-supported deals were in tech and IP-based businesses, compared to 39% of the overall market
53%
of Bank-supported equity deals in 2019 - 2021 were outside of London
Growth stage deals supported by British Patient Capital were larger than the wider market, ensuring companies are better capitalised