The number of UK and Irish tech companies taking venture funding fell below 2009 to a four-year low, according to figures published by the investment advisory Ascendant – but overall amounts invested are growing.
The number of investments over £500,000 fell to 42, from 65 a year earlier. But amount invested reached £221 million, up from £153 million. In other words, VC investment is consolidating in fewer hands.
But Ascendant gives a methodology caveat: “It is worth noting that we have excluded two large deals – Plastic Logic (£437m) and Appsense (£43m) – on the grounds that the companies are no longer HQ’d in the UK. If they were included the amount invested in Q1 would have exceeded the whole of 2010!
Biggest recipients included Wonga (#1, £73 million) and Just-Eat (#3, £30 million).