Economic contribution of UK private equity and venture capital in 2025

This report estimates the current direct economic activity of UK companies supported by private equity and venture capital firms within the UK economy in 2025. This provides a snapshot of the direct economic footprint of activity supported by private equity and venture capital investments - as measured by employment, employee earnings, and gross domestic product (GDP) in 2025. 

Private capital now makes an annual economic contribution of almost £200bn to the wider British economy, equating to 7% of GDP (up from 6% in 2023). This economic contribution is underscored by the fact that private equity and venture capital invest for the long term, providing a stable business backer in times of both prosperity and uncertainty.

The sector now supports over 2.5 million jobs in 2025, up from 2.2 million in 2023. These jobs are in a range of sectors right across the nations and regions of the UK. These are in businesses that range from some of the largest multinational corporations to the newest innovative start-ups.
 

Key findings

• Employment and earnings contribution: UK private equity and venture capital backed businesses provide employment and earnings for hundreds of thousands of workers. Overall, in 2025, UK private equity and venture capital backed businesses employ 2.5 million workers, collectively earning £91 billion.  This reflects the direct economic activity supported by the investments of private equity and venture capital firms. The average earnings of a UK worker at a private equity or venture capital backed business are approximately £35,600 in 2025.
• Share of UK economic activity: Private equity and venture capital backed businesses directly generate £199 billion of GDP in the United Kingdom in 2025. GDP measures the contribution of a sector or industry to the production of goods and services within the United Kingdom. Private equity and venture capital backed businesses directly support approximately 7% of UK GDP, 8% of employment, and 9% gross earnings in 2025.
• Growth over time: Overall, in 2025, there are over 12,900 private equity and venture capital backed businesses which directly employ 2.5 million workers. This represents a 5% increase in the number of companies compared to 12,200 in 2023, and a 17% increase in employment from 2.2 million workers in 2023. Additionally private equity and venture capital backed direct employment increased from 7% to 8% as a share of total employment between 2023 and 2025. The year 2023 is used for comparison as it is the most recent prior version of this report.

Read Chapter 1: Total Economic Activity of private equity and venture capital backed businesses, below.