€745m invested in UK and Irish tech companies in H1 2012
Some £596m (€745m) has been invested in UK and Irish tech companies in the first half of this year, the highest amount in more than a decade, according to new figures from London-based corporate finance advisory company, Ascendant.
In the second quarter of 2012, £297m (€372m) was put into 60 UK and Irish companies by 102 investors. This compares to an investment of £234m (€293m) in Q2 2011 invested in 48 companies by 70 investors in the second quarter of 2011.
“When added to our figures for Q1 that makes £596m invested in 124 companies in the first half of 2012,” saidStuart McKnight, managing director of Ascendant. “It is worth noting that in the whole of 2011, just £786m was invested in 193 companies so we are experiencing a significant uplift in terms of funds committed and in the volume of companies receiving money.”
According to McKnight, the numbers are much better than expected and present a very encouraging investment picture. “Even in 2008, which was a boom year, VCs only managed to invest £550m in H1,” he said. “The market appears to be moving up by all the key indicators (volume, number of investors, deal sizes, etc) that Ascendant tracks.”
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