“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth”. I was reminded of those words while looking back at my year as BVCA chair and considering how some significant events impacted on my plan for the key priorities that would shape my year. — We saw unprecedented upheavals in the political landscape. That has resulted in some changes in the stakeholders we are dealing with and a refocusing of our engagement with them. …

As the BVCA starts to celebrate 40 years representing our industry I am honoured and excited to be taking on the role of Chair. Over the next year I will be entirely focused on telling our amazing story to everyone our industry touches — politicians, regulators, journalists, the business community and indeed the general public. If we all do that successfully then there are long-term benefits for us all and we can protect Britain’s status as the best place for venture capital and private equity on this side of the Atlantic.

Fintech is one of the great UK success stories of recent times and it remains the sector responsible for the majority of the country’s “unicorns”. The number of deals in this sector may have dropped in 2022, but the latest data from Beauhurst shows that it is still the most popular sector for UK VCs. — Despite the trials of some of the big name fintech companies that have listed in recent years, overall the sector is looking to continue to grow and diversify, and the latest Small Business Finance Market Report from the British Business Bank shows that lending to SMEs from challenger banks overtook…

This week the Government published the long-awaited Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA). After a week of more grim economic forecasts and the downfall of Tech Nation, this is positive news. — Plans for ARIA were first announced almost two years ago and last year Dr Ilan Gur and Matt Clifford MBE were appointed as CEO and Chair. …

Drone superhighways in the sky and digital infrastructure in space disrupting industries on earth. It’s safe to say Mark Boggett, CEO of Seraphim, had the audience spellbound when he spoke at the Infrastructure conference, one of three streams at the BVCA Alternative Fund Strategies Conference on 28 March. — In a session called ‘Infratech: the future of smart infrastructure’, he drew a picture of a whole new world of possibilities, describing an army of smaller, lighter, cheaper satellites enabling ‘a data communication tsunami’ impacting everything from smart cities to climate change.

Suzi Gillespie, BVCA Head of Research, looks at the changes in economic conditions seen in 2022, how this is impacting private markets, what this means for BVCA members and how they are responding to the challenges ahead. — “Navigating a shifting tide”; “Private markets turn down the volume”. These are the headlines of this year’s annual market review reports from Bain & Company and McKinsey & Company respectively.

Last month saw the launch of the European Tech Champions Initiative (ETCI). This €3.75bn fund of funds is backed by the European Investment Bank and the governments of five European countries. — It will be managed by the European Investment Fund and will invest in 10–15 late-stage VC funds of more than €1bn that participate in funding rounds of more than €50m. The fund has so far secured €1 billion in commitments from Spain, Germany, and France, €150 million from Italy and…

In February the new Department for Science, Innovation & Technology was announced as a welcome development for the private capital industry as it continues to support the Government in its goal for the UK to become a science and technology superpower. The Department brings together relevant teams from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to drive this agenda.

February saw the launch of the new UK private equity annual reports, which brings together highlights and featured information from the three annual reports compiled by and for the Private Equity Reporting Group (PERG). For those who don’t know, PERG is the independent body established to assess the industry’s compliance with the Walker Guidelines. — Over the last 12 months the BVCA has worked with PERG to refresh the Guidelines to increase their understanding and accessibility. This has resulted in a new website, new branding for the PERG Annual Report and a restructured EY report on the performance of portfolio companies.