23 Feb 2015

BVCA publishes regional impact of UK private equity and venture capital

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Over 2,200 companies in the UK are currently backed by private equity and venture capital, with over £30 billion invested and employing more than 800,000 people according to figures published today by the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA).

Today marks the launch of a major campaigning initiative by the BVCA to demonstrate the significant and wide-ranging impact private equity and venture capital has on the UK.

Called The Investment Agenda it has a simple mission - to explain why private equity and venture capital matters: why it matters to business, why it matters to the economy and why it matters to the UK.

To introduce the campaign the BVCA has produced an interactive map which features investment and employment numbers for all the regions of the UK to illustrate how private equity and venture capital is truly a national investor.

Highlights:

  • Over 2,200 companies in the UK are currently backed by private equity and venture capital, with over £30 billion invested and employing more than 800,000 people;
  • The North East is home to the third highest concentration of companies backed by private equity and venture capital, beaten only by London and the South East;
  • In Scotland there are 132 companies currently backed by our members, receiving total investment of more than £1.1 billion;
  • There are more BVCA members with offices in the North West than anywhere else outside London;
  • Taken together, the East and West Midlands have over 280 businesses with an investment value of £3.2 billion and over 45,000 employees;
  • There are 118 companies in Wales currently supported by private equity and venture capital.

Over the next four weeks the BVCA will be publishing further studies addressing the following key issues as part of The Investment Agenda:

  • Skills & Apprenticeships – how private equity and venture capital-backed businesses are developing innovative training programmes and enhancing workforce skills;
  • Social Investment – illustrating the impact social investment is having on businesses and the community;
  • Exports– the role our industry is having on international trade;
  • Growth Companies – what private equity and venture capital-backed SMEs want from the next Government.

Welcoming the launch of The Investment Agenda, Tim Hames, Director General of the BVCA, said:

“Business and investment is already emerging as one of the key battlegrounds on which the General Election will be fought, and for good reason. The future prosperity of the UK economy is dependent upon its ability to attract and encourage investment. In order to compete on the world stage, the country needs companies to grow, entrepreneurship to be stimulated and innovation funded.
Private equity and venture capital has a proven track record of doing just that and The Investment Agenda is our platform to demonstrate it. This is an industry which has backed over 3,900 UK companies in the last five years and one which is increasingly using its tools to address social challenges as well as business ones.
As a nation of enterprise, the UK has a long and proud history. Now, with the rapid improvement of the economy, there is an opportunity to build on this and take the country to even greater success. Investment will be key to this, and private equity and venture capital will have its part to play.”



Notes to editor
  1. The Investment Agenda can be found here. The remaining four topics will be launched over the next four weeks.

  2. Figures relate to investments made from 2009 to 2013 (inclusive) and exclude companies where a full divestment has occurred.

  3. All figures are taken from the BVCA Report on Investment Activity from 2009-2013.

  4. Company numbers refer to the number of company headquarters, not company branches.

  5. Investment/employee figures are at time of acquisition.

  6. The British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA) is the industry body for the UK private equity and venture capital industry. The BVCA has over 500 member firms, representing the vast majority of UK-based private equity and venture capital firms and advisers.



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