This week saw the BVCA’s North American roadshow take place, during which nearly 20 European GPs met and discussed where to find opportunity in Europe with LPs in Toronto, New York and San Francisco. The roadshow was supported by the UK Government’s Department for Business and Trade who kindly supported outreach and provided British Consul General Residences in each city to host evening receptions.
Given the current climate, including valuation mismatches between buyers and sellers, the slow exit environment and the challenges LPs have experienced with rebalancing their portfolios, in advance of the trip there were some natural nerves among GP members about whether now is the right time to engage.
What followed was a week of very positive discussion about the opportunities in European private equity, private credit and venture capital, starting with some very favourable performance benchmarking of European PE and VC compared to the US over the past decade.
Times may be challenging for many LPs to commit now, but the acknowledgement of the talent and strength of the European ecosystem, the need for geographical diversification by LPs and the depth of opportunity in Europe seemed stronger than ever. And that’s after nearly 15 years of running BVCA roadshows to North America…
Private equity, private credit and venture capital were all well represented among the GP group. There was vibrant discussion about a range of sector opportunities including deep tech, energy transition, cyber security, SAAS, financial services and education technology. As you’d expect, AI received plenty of attention across both PE and VC.
So is now a good time to engage? The GPs certainly found truth in the adage of the benefits of strengthening relationships through challenging times.
The BVCA’s next roadshow will be to Tokyo, Seoul and Singapore w/c 11th March. Now may well be the time for GPs to develop new relationships, or strengthen them, in Asia too.
GPs can get involved by emailing Nicole Walker.
Authored by Leon de Bono
Managing Development, Industry Development, BVCA
