Ian Connatty, Managing Director of British Patient Capital, comments on PitchBook data that highlights record heights within the Venture Capital market in 2021:

“The UK venture capital industry is going from strength to strength. The increasing size of funding rounds and the increase in later stage capital are key milestones and a testament to the increasing maturing of the UK and European ecosystem. As access to growth capital through multiple funding rounds increases, we should expect to see innovation across the country accelerate.

“The record amount of exit proceeds reported last year is a striking highlight, proof that investing in early-stage and scale-up business can generate strong returns. Yet in the UK we are still seeing a shortage of institutional investors, especially pension schemes, recognise the value such businesses can generate.

“The decline in the number of venture capital funds closing, despite the sums being invested, underscores this point. This is why British Patient Capital remains committed to building a diversified portfolio of funds by stage, sector and vintage. As the largest domestic investor in UK venture and venture growth capital, we are building the country’s patient capital eco-system. Over the past three years we have committed £1.3bn, supporting some of the country’s fastest-growing businesses such as Revolut, Graphcore, Quantexa and Thought Machine.”

Key data points from the report:

•           Capital invested in Europe and Israel surpassing €100 billion for the first time

•           Late-stage capital now accounts for 70% of total deal value

•           First-time rounds spiked to new highs as VCs became more confident in Europe's venture ecosystem.

•           Exit value more than tripled the previous record from 2018, totalling €142.5 billion

•           The UK & Ireland continues to lead on VC deal value and volume, with approx. 30% of deals in Europe and 30% of the total value generated by UK deals

•           Although European VC funds swelled in size in 2021, the number of vehicles created sunk to its lowest level since 2013.