British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA)

🚀 Resilient returns but challenges persist in the fundraising environment The BVCA's recent Venture Capital in the UK report highlights the scale and impact of VC investment across the UK. 🔍 Key Insights: ◼️ Whilst the venture capital sector proves strong, fundraising from domestic investors remains challenging, with UK venture funds raising only 40% of capital from domestic sources. ◼️ In 2023, UK venture-backed businesses attracted £8bn in investment, including £5bn of venture equity capital and an additional £3bn from other investors. ◼️ These businesses contributed £20bn to UK GDP, emphasising their critical role in innovation, job creation and economic growth. To build a thriving ecosystem, we must support British companies to scale up and address the investment gap that forces many UK scale-ups to seek funding overseas. To achieve a thriving VC ecosystem, we must; ◼️ Put in place a stable and competitive tax system and regulatory framework, ◼️ Bridge the scale-up gap, ◼️ Increase UK pension investment in private capital, ◼️ Ensure government-supported investment vehicles support the early-stage ecosystem. Read the report here: https://lnkd.in/ejbNFXZU

The BVCA’s Vision 2024 National Winner for our medium investment stage was MetaCompliance. Based in Derry and backed by Tenzing, MetaCompliance is the leading provider of cyber awareness training and compliance solutions for enterprise businesses in Europe. With the rise of cyber security as a critical business risk, MetaCompliance addresses this by offering an innovative and tailored SaaS platform. This comprehensive solution focuses on managing people-related risks in Cyber Security, Data Protection, and Compliance, making it an indispensable tool. The judges identified MetaCompliance's strategic vision, backed by Tenzing's investment, which has driven remarkable financial growth and reinforced its market leadership through innovation, customer-centric solutions, and a strong commitment to ESG principles. This positions MetaCompliance well for sustainable future growth, making it a model enterprise in the cybersecurity and compliance landscape. Learn more about them in the video below or read about them here: https://lnkd.in/e5bA_mMG The BVCA's Vision 2024 initiative, in association with Grant Thornton UK LLP and Santander, recognises extraordinary companies backed by private capital that show lasting value, across judging criteria including growth, competitiveness, innovation and ESG. We awarded four National Winners amongst the top 17 companies representing the following investment stages; scale-up, medium-sized and large businesses.

BVCA Chief Executive, Michael Moore and Chairman of the Private Equity Reporting Group (PERG), Nick Land, led Wednesday's discussion uncovering the pivotal insights highlighted from the UK Private Equity Annual Public Reports. On the launch, Nick stated “Today is a chance to take stock of the progress the Private Equity industry has made since reporting began. The UK industry is more transparent than ever, with the greatest number of firms in scope of the rules, and low levels of non-compliance. These are good foundations to build on ahead of next year when we upgrade the standards we expect of the industry, introducing new types of disclosure and an adapted scope. That said, there continues to be a number of non-compliant portfolio companies which fail to do their part. We hope to see private equity firms continue to meet calls for greater quality disclosures.” Michael further enforced this, stating “Private equity continues to be a stable source of investment for businesses across the country, and this year is no exception with over £20bn invested into UK companies. This should come as no surprise. Throughout the economic cycle, private equity firms have been supporting revenue growth for the businesses that they invest in, often above the public company benchmark. “Nonetheless no business is immune from persistently challenging economic headwinds, and it's clear from today’s reports that the performance of private equity-owned firms has taken a hit this year. However, looking across the past decade, we can see that over the long-term, private equity backed businesses report higher revenue, create more jobs and increase productivity more than publicly listed companies.” Full findings from the UK Private Equity Annual Reports are available here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/dzHUyQrs

🔊 Launch of the UK Private Equity Annual Public Reports 2024    The UK Private Equity Annual Public Reports bring together three separate annual reports which seek to provide enhanced transparency and disclosures by some of the largest UK portfolio companies and their #privateequity owners.    Significantly this year, following several months of consultation with the industry and wider stakeholders, the Walker Guidelines were refreshed to enable greater levels of transparency expected of firms and hold them to a higher standard than ever before. Changes include increased disclosure on DE&I, principal risks and uncertainties, and environmental matters. Looking ahead, we are excited to continue working on developing higher standards alongside PERG.  Read the full press release here: https://lnkd.in/dzHUyQrs   Check out the video below to see the highlights from this year's PERG reports 👇

Following the launch of our UK Private Equity Annual Public Reports today, we are pleased to share some of the key insights unveiled from this morning’s event.    🌟 Key Takeaways:  ◼️ Since acquisition, the portfolio companies have grown revenue at 5.8%, which is slightly below the public company benchmark of 6.1%.  ◼️ On average over the past eight years, reported year on year revenue growth of current portfolio companies of 10.3% was higher than the public company benchmark of 7.2%.  ◼️ Reported employment under PE ownership has increased by 1.8% per annum since acquisition.  ◼️ Gross Value Added per employee, increased by 3.0% per annum since acquisition.    Today highlighted the continued resilience, innovation and commitment demonstrated by the #privatecapital industry in improving #transparency. Looking ahead, we are excited to continue working on developing higher standards alongside Private Equity Reporting Group (PERG). Stay tuned for further updates.    Read the reports here: https://lnkd.in/e9UEkYea   For more information, get in contact with the Policy Team on policy@bvca.co.uk 

Last month, the BVCA submitted its response to the Government’s consultation on the UK’s modern Industrial Strategy, highlighting the barriers to growth and the key policies that can help unlock the UK’s full investment potential. 📢 One of the central calls in this submission was that a successful Industrial Strategy must ensure the market ecosystem for each sector, including regulation, incentives, and talent pool, works to attract investment in businesses of all sizes.  💡 Building on this consultation, the Government has today announced the launch of its new Industrial Strategy Advisory Council, which will see private sector leaders inform the Government’s development of its new modern Industrial Strategy. 🏢 Partnering with business leaders and experts from academia to achieve economic growth and job creation will be key in helping the UK become a prime investment opportunity for business. #Privateequity and #venturecapital has demonstrated that it’s an indispensable partner for economic growth. In 2023 alone, private capital directly supported 12,000 businesses, accounting for 2.2 million jobs and contributing 6% to GDP across all sectors. Learn more about the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council here 👉 https://lnkd.in/emsXnRhh

"Our learning in recent years is that the UK and European opportunity remains underrepresented in Asia." In the latest Insight article, Leon de Bono, the BVCA’s Managing Director for Industry Development reflects on a recent visit to Tokyo, Seoul and Singapore, made in preparation for the BVCA’s LP roadshow next taking place in March 2025. Leon highlights how the UK and European opportunity remains underrepresented in Asia and recounts discussions with LPs about the broader geopolitical climate and how this might impact future investments to Europe. Read the full Insight article here: https://lnkd.in/evCBDJHP For more information on the BVCA's Investor Roadshows to North America and Asia, click here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/ecxW77DE

The BVCA’s Vision 2024 National Winner for our scale-up investment stage was Quorum Cyber. Based in Edinburgh and backed by Livingbridge, Quorum Cyber has rapidly established itself as a significant force in the cybersecurity industry, specialising in cloud security and cyber protection. With a strong focus on partnership with Microsoft, Quorum Cyber has leveraged the rapid adoption of cloud-based systems and the pressing need for cyber defences. The judges recognised Quorum Cyber as a great success story for Scotland, noting their international expansion and deepened capabilities, positioning themselves to lead in the high-growth MDR space, leveraging cutting-edge technology and commitment to social responsibility. Learn more about Quorum Cyber in the video below or read about them here: https://lnkd.in/eJVFSNuy The BVCA's Vision 2024 initiative, in association with Grant Thornton UK LLP and Santander, recognises extraordinary companies backed by private capital that show lasting value, across judging criteria including growth, competitiveness, innovation and ESG. We awarded four National Winners amongst the top 17 companies representing the following investment stages; scale-up, medium-sized and large businesses.

📣 Report calls on the Government to channel more institutional investment into scale-ups   A new report by the The Future Governance Forum (FGF), supported by BVCA and Boardwave, assessed the impact of barriers to UK scale-ups and has called on the Government to channel more institutional investment into fast-growing companies.   Published today, ‘Rebuilding the Nation 04: A Mountain to Scale’, explores how late-stage funding gaps, regional imbalances and a shortage of technological and leadership skills are holding back the UK’s scale-up potential. Although scale-ups make up just 1% of UK SMEs, the sector generates 22% of #SME turnover (£497 billion).   The BVCA’s Michael Moore emphasised that “the creation of pension ‘mega-funds’ creates the opportunity to significantly increase domestic investment into some of the UKs most ambitious firms, which will be good news for growing businesses and pension savers who will benefit from improved returns.”   Further calls on Government include: 📈 Channelling more institutional investment into scale-ups in all corners of the UK, via the pension ‘megafunds’ announced by the Chancellor last month and the new British Growth Partnership. 🏢 Extending existing enterprise investment schemes with a new Scale-Up Investment Scheme to support larger, faster-growing firms. 🏡 Building a ‘Scale-up Duty’ into regional Local Growth Plans, so Mayors and local leaders develop industrial policy in their areas with scale-up success in mind.   Read the full report here 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gZWGMzFU   #VC #Research  

The BVCA are proud supporters of #IPEMCannes2025 on 28-30 January. The theme of the event “New Promises for Private Markets” is an opportunity for investors to discuss challenges and opportunities for the year ahead as they navigate the rapidly evolving private market landscape. Please contact Denise Typl if you would like to arrange meetings at the conference or use the BVCA's private meeting area.   The BVCA is partnering with IPEM for its seventh annual pan-European survey to seek the views of European #GPs on their perspectives and the anticipated trends for 2025. The results of the survey will be presented at the conference. Participation in this survey closes on Friday 13 December, submit your perspective here: https://lnkd.in/eJWYmyRa