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.

To mark International Women’s Day we have a special Member Insight by Kerry Baldwin, Managing Partner, IQ Capital, and BVCA Chair 2021/22 — The venture capital ecosystem has become an integral part of the UK economy, investing more than £22bn in 2022. Yet women only represent 10% of senior decision-makers at VC firms, according to the 2021 BVCA diversity and inclusion report. Having worked as a Managing Partner of a deep tech venture…

Under the theme of reality check delegates attending IPEM 2023 took over Cannes again in January to discuss the private capital landscape. — The macroeconomic headwinds were front of mind at the last meeting in September, but economic turbulence has accelerated since then, with the rise of inflation and interest rates, and the slowing down of growth. As the industry adjusts to a new year, where economic disruption is predicted to continue, IPEM…

Martin Senk, BVCA Research Manager, takes a closer look at the data from the BVCA’s Investment Activity Survey, bringing the fundraising data into focus and looking forward to 2023. — Number of funds hold steady, drop in amount raised More than 100 funds raised capital in 2021 — a figure similar to recent years. However, when taking a closer look at the different fund investment stages, we see that the total fundraising amount dropped dramatically. This is due to a significantly smaller amount raised by buyout funds compared to…

More and more companies are calling for stronger regulation for themselves and their peers to codify supply chain best practice into UK law. — Recently, 47 companies, investors, business associations and initiatives published a joint statement calling on the UK Government to “introduce a new legal requirement for companies and investors to carry out human rights and environmental due diligence”. These businesses are ahead of the curve, prioritising morality and reputation over efficiency and…

Professor Tim Spector OBE was the headline speaker at the BVCA’s Sector Conference in London last week. He provided insight that was relevant to all three sectors covered at the conference — Health, Consumer & Retail and Emerging Tech — as he talked about the gut microbiome and the investment…

Retirement is unlikely to be front of mind for a Gen Z’er. Yet, as they take steps into the world of work, their auto-enrolment into a pension scheme will see cash put away to support their twilight years. — If they work in the private sector there’s a high chance they’ll be paying into a default Defined Contribution (DC) pension scheme. With these schemes, the ultimate size of the individual’s final pension pot depends on a) how much that individual pays in and b) where that amount is invested…

The BVCA has published three pieces capturing some of the discussion points at the recent Summit. In the third and final instalment we reflect on speakers’ comments on the role the industry will play in challenging times. Speakers at the BVCA Summit in October were positive as to the industry’s role in the more challenging economic environment ahead. — No-one was playing down the seriousness of the macro-economic situation or the challenges it poses to investors at the BVCA Summit in October. However, there was a widely shared belief that private equity is well positioned for a downturn, and that it can play a positive role in UK growth…