Thought Leadership

LSE's Dr Juanita Gonzalez Uribe and Dr Robyn Klingler-Vidra argue that the venture capital due diligence process itself has significant upsides for the businesses applying for support. The articles outlines how their research found that startups selected for due diligence do not just grow faster; they also adopt new digital tools and website technologies before raising external funding.

UK politics is back in the spotlight with the return of parliament and the political conference season. There are a few things to look for in the autumn that may herald an improvement in business confidence.

Csanad Csorba, Associate Director – Corporate Tax & Private Equity and Alastair Dixon, Partner at RSM UK at RSM UK explore what CFO’s should consider throughout the lifecycle of a PE investment including post deal actions, approaches to growth and expansion through to exit preparation.

A shorter update this month, however, despite what some of our cousins across the pond say on social media about European tech shutting down over the summer, there has been no sense of that here or from our members. Deals, fundraising and exits have continued apace, including the sale of an Oxford University spinout, OrganOx, for a reported $1.5bn.

At a time when there have been questions raised about the attractiveness of the UK’s tax arrangements for investors (domestic as well as international), even the suspicion of a ‘wealth tax’ on the horizon is counter-productive.

Richard Armstrong and Stuart Mansfield, Partners at Arthur Cox, highlight how Northern Ireland’s business environment is experiencing a significant transformation, with private equity and debt financing playing increasingly complementary roles in driving growth, innovation, and inward investment.

A comment piece by BVCA Chief Executive, Michael Moore.

Besides the traditional of flurry of getting VC deals over the line, the period as we enter summer is also a busy one for government and regulators. This year is no exception.

Leandros Kalisperas, Chief Investment Officer at British Business Bank writes about how the Bank is championing diversity within the VC industry and how up to £250 billion of new value could be added to the UK economy if women started and scaled new businesses at the same rate as men.

Dan Perkins, Founder Liquidity Fund, sets out the case for rethinking founder liquidity at Series A. As the UK startup ecosystem matures, he argues that enabling modest early liquidity is not a risk to ambition, but a tool to sustain it - offering founders the stability to focus, scale, and build for the long term.

A comment piece by BVCA Chief Executive, Michael Moore.

A comment piece by BVCA Chief Executive, Michael Moore.

The BVCA’s Senior Policy Manager, Nick Chipperfield, responds to this week’s Mansion House speech and the Government’s Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy.