British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA)

Building a more inclusive investment ecosystem starts with unlocking capital for women entrepreneurs. 🔹 The latest report from the Investing in Women Code shows that signatories continue to lead the way, with 32% of their venture capital deals in 2023 going to female-founded businesses, compared to the market average of 28%. 🌍 With over 250 signatories, the IWC accounts for almost half of all UK venture capital deals and 40% of UK Business Angels Association groups, demonstrating significant progress in closing the gender investment gap. 📈 The report also highlights that new VC signatories are outperforming the wider market, with 42% of their deals going to teams with at least one female founder. 📊 This progress is crucial, but there's more work to be done. Expanding the Code to include more Limited Partners and Community Development Finance Institutions will ensure even more access to capital for women-led businesses across the UK. The BVCA is proud to be a partner of the IWC, helping to build a more inclusive venture capital industry and deliver growth across the UK. 📅 Join the webinar link here: https://lnkd.in/egXa9Ngs  📖 Read the report for yourself here: https://lnkd.in/e3CD5fan   #InvestingInWomen #VentureCapital #FemaleFounders 

🔎 Private equity attracts the highest proportion of impact capital 🌱 Impact Investing Institute launched its new report yesterday which found that the UK impact investing market has grown to £76.8 billion in assets under management (AUM) as of the end of 2023. It also revealed that #privateequity attracted the highest proportion of impact capital. The report showed that three asset classes together account for approximately 85% of the market: 💼 Private equity made up 45% of estimated AUM 🏗️ Real assets including infrastructure and property made up 28% of estimated AUM 💳 Private debt made up 11% of estimated AUM Findings build on the BVCA and City of London Corporation’s upcoming report in October, ‘The UK Centre of Excellence in Impact Investing’, which will make the case for why we should scale and add value to the UK impact investment market. Government has a crucial role in fostering an environment that encourages impact investing and enables large-scale partnerships with private capital to tackle pressing challenges, including through blended finance and outcomes-focused approaches. Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/emakwfJK

Last week at the #BVCASummit2024, the BVCA were delighted to award Poppy Gustafsson as the inaugural winner of the Inspirational Women Award, recognising high-growth leaders. Poppy is the co-founder and former Chief Executive Officer at Darktrace, who successfully demonstrated leading and twice-exiting high-growth private organisations, proving a role model for other female founders and entrepreneurs. Commenting on her win, Poppy said “This award underscores the importance of visibility and support for female entrepreneurs, and I hope it inspires the next generation of women to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams with confidence and determination.” Born out of the government’s ‘Women-led high growth enterprises taskforce’, this award is designed to motivate and encourage the next generation of female entrepreneurs, showcasing the talent, best practice and innovation that is emerging, providing a crucial layer of visibility for female-led, high growth ventures.   For more information, read the press release here: https://lnkd.in/e2Diziiz

🎉 Party conference season is officially underway 🎉 BVCA Chief Executive, Michael Moore, is in Brighton attending the Liberal Democrats Party Conference. At the BVCA-sponsored event with the Treasury, Business and Industrial Strategy Spokesperson, ‘In Conversation with Sarah Olney’, Michael highlighted the crucial need to deploy capital to the frontlines of the UK economy and called for more predictable policy frameworks. In his speech, Michael made the case for industry as he said "Over 12,000 UK businesses are backed by #privateequity and #venturecapital, directly supporting almost 2.2 million jobs and contributing 6% of the UK’s GDP." Stability and access to finance were recurring themes throughout Business Day, with expert panels discussing the scale-up gap facing UK businesses. Speeches from Sarah Olney, Daisy Cooper, Deputy Leader, Lord Chris Fox, and Chris Coghlan, MP for Dorking and Horley, reinforced the vital role of private enterprise as a key driver of growth and prosperity.

The BVCA are delighted to announce the Wales & South West, and London & South East winners of Vision 2024: Leaders Driving Growth awards, in association with Grant Thornton UK LLP and Santander. Six companies have been recognised for their exceptional growth and were awarded at the #BVCASummit2024 Main Conference yesterday. A massive congratulations to the four London and South East winners and their supporting investors: ◾ Eque2 Ltd, headquartered in Maidenhead, is a leading ERP software provider for the construction industry, supported by WestBridge. ◾ First Mile | Certified B Corp, headquartered in London, is an environmental services company dedicated to helping businesses reduce their carbon footprint through innovative waste management, recycling, and circular economy solutions, supported by Growth Capital Partners. ◾ Techex, headquartered in Bracknell, is a UK-based leader in broadcast software design, specialising in live cloud and IP broadcast solutions for some of the world’s largest media companies, supported by WestBridge. ◾ Vivup, is a leading UK provider of employee benefits and wellbeing services, supported by Omni Partners . A massive congratulations to the two Wales & South West winners and their supporting investors: ◾ Avantis, headquartered in Bridgend, is a fast-growing leader in sustainable engineering solutions for the global energy and transportation industries, supported by Development Bank of Wales. ◾ Hybrid, headquartered in Bristol, is a specialised marketing agency catering to the higher education sector, with a growing presence in key markets such as the UK, US, and Australia, supported by LDC. These companies have been recognised for their #competitiveness, #growth, #innovation and #ESG commitment. #Vision2024 recognises extraordinary companies that show vision and the lasting value of teams backed by #privateequity and #venturecapital. Read more about the winning companies, and why they have received recognition here: https://bit.ly/3ZkMZ9J

Kicking off the afternoon sessions, Michael Moore was joined by Warburg Pincus LLC’s, Andrew Sibbald to put a spotlight on global capital, highlighting our industry as an essential provider of capital and the UK and London acting as a leading global hub. Together, they overviewed how the global capital industry is a #partnerforgrowth. Mark Austin, Angus Millar and Matthew Sabben-Clare joined Isobel Clarke to discuss UK IPOs and related UK equity capital markets, offering the opportunity to explore the links between public and private markets. They concluded that public equity markets have had a strong 12 months, with investor sentiment remaining buoyant. IPOs are a key tool in the capital market cycle, marking a stage of maturity for funds, marking the transition from private to public sphere. Following this, Mercia Ventures’ Stephen Johnson, WestBridge’s Rebecca Sinclair, White Star Capital’s Nicholas Stocks, Apex Group Ltd’s Chris Thoume joined Frances Watson as they explored digital transformation, focusing on value creation in both portfolio companies and teams. They emphasised understanding the technological needs, the problem, and the KPIs needed to measure success along the way are prerequisites for implementing digital transformation. Next, the CEO of Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA), Jennifer Carnithan Choi was joined by Teia Merring and Scott Penwell as they discussed the evolving LP/GP relationships and the future of fundraising. They highlighted that GPs are utilising exits and deploying money, with a stronger focus on middle market space, whereas LPs remain consistent regarding capital budgets but are beginning to push into middle markets, with a particular focus on sustainable growth. Following this, Lakestar’s Stephen Nundy, Apollo Global Management, Inc.’s Robert Seminara, Ares Management Corporation's Matt Theodorakis joined Sarah Adams to discuss the global perspectives on what will drive international allocations to private capital. Together, they highlighted now as an exciting opportunity to invest in tech, emphasising the need for private capital and recognising the dry powder available in #PE, enabling more investment opportunities and liquidity. Concluding the Summit Main Conference, BVCA’s Chief Executive was joined by keynote speaker, Claire Williams OBE as she highlighted that tech and innovation are the pinnacle of F1 and the role #privatecapital plays in motorsports, noting that private capital enabled the success of Williams Racing, developing the company and enhancing business growth. Leadership within the motorsport space is challenging, emphasising the importance of a strong culture as a key driver in improving performance. Claire highlighted the lack of female leaders' presence within a heavily male-dominated field, which inspired her continued work on #DEI to pave the pathway for future women leaders within the F1 industry.

“The UK is a great place to invest…a great country with fantastic entrepreneurs,” said Kevin Hollinrake MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade. The former Business Minister delivered a keynote speech at our flagship #BVCASummit2024, highlighting the vital role our industry plays in powering the UK economy, contributing 6% of GDP. The Shadow Secretary of State also commended the Pensions & Private Capital Expert Panel for its work in bringing together the two industries. Hollinrake reflected on his collaboration with the panel during his time as Secretary of State, focusing on the importance of incentivising UK pension capital into productive assets to improve returns for UK savers. The Shadow Secretary ended the speech by talking about how important the industry is in driving the economy forward and the BVCA thanks the Shadow Secretary for his consistent support and recognition of the industry’s work.

Kicking off the dual stages, for the VC stage Kerry Baldwin, camilla richards and Tom Taylor provided an update on the Investment Compact from the VC perspective, emphasising the huge opportunity to access #capital to invest in innovation and growth, and further emphasising the opportunity for pensions to enhance their returns. Richard Anton, Amelia Armour, Ian Connatty, Joe Schorge and Yaron Valler joined Denise Typl to delve into the outlook for UK #VC. Despite the fundraising environment being competitive, they anticipate an increase in deal completion activity, alongside an increase in exit activity. Eric Arnould, Dennis Atkinson, Juliet Rogan and Joyce Dan Xie, CFA joined Aon’s Will Kier to consider the size of the scale up-gap in the UK and Europe, alongside what policy measures can unlock greater capital. They emphasised the importance of pushing sustainable growth through a strong venture ecosystem. Cambridge Innovation Capital’s Andrew Williamson explored the tech and investment challenges that the future government will face. He highlighted the importance of promoting the #VC industry and the positive impact, including returns generated from UK venture. On the PE stage, Alan MacKay from GHO Capital Partners LLP provided an outlook of the mid-market, and challenges faced by industry. Chandini Jain, Auquan, Nassim Cherchali, AnaCap, Dana Haimoff, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, David Hirschmann, Permira and Lucia Villamor, Endless LLP discussed how to create liquidity in a challenging market, and the provided predictions for 2025. Allegra Day, Jennifer Flood, Alan O' Dea, CFA and Luise O'Gorman joined Leon de Bono to look at the role climate considerations play in pre-deal context and explored how financial sponsors can work with their portcos. Joana Scaff, Vjerana Burleigh, Owen James, Mark James McDonald, Mohith Sondhi brought the sessions to a close by looking at liquidity tools in the private market, emphasising a decline in exit activity over recent years, and an increase in liquidity tools. 

“When the venture capital and private equity industry grows, so does the UK economy.” That was the message from Economic Secretary Tulip Siddiq, at one of her first official engagements as HMT City Minister, to the UK’s private equity and venture capital community today at #BVCASummit2024. The Minister thanked the industry for its contribution to the UK economy, highlighting that in 2023, #PE and #VC contributed £137 billion of GDP and employed 2.2 million people. Attendees were delighted to hear the Minister speak about the Government’s plans to achieve the highest sustained growth in the G7, which included encouraging more vital private capital investment. The Minister further committed to working with the industry to unlock institutional capital for investment into private capital, while celebrating the work of the Pensions and Private Capital Expert Panel.

The #BVCASummit2024 has kicked off for day two with the Summit Main Conference, beginning with the BVCA’s Chief Executive, Michael Moore and BVCA 2024-25 Chair, Matthew Sabben-Clare discussing the state of the market. They delved into the need for the industry to operate on an international framework and that there is a good cause for optimism, with fundraising, M&A and IPO challenges diminishing and highlighting the importance of driving #partnersforgrowth in the #privateequity and #venturecapital sector. HSBC's, Janet Henry provided a macro-economic outlook, emphasising that the global economy is progressing through the current banking and economic landscape. She highlights that productivity growth is the holy grail but requires skills and investment in a productive capacity. She concluded with an optimistic approach, celebrating that UK inflation is falling and interest rates will continue to fall. Following this, ITV's Political Editor, Robert Peston delved into the plan for growth inside No.10, sharing his unique perspective on the state of play in the world today. Robert highlighted that the government are committed to increasing the growth rate, emphasising that the upcoming budget is the most important of our lifetime, highlighting the need for significant investment in core public services. Johanna Barr from Advent International, Andrea Foti from Aon and Rebecca Gibson from Oakley Capital shared their perspectives on the PE, Growth Capital and Private Credit industry and the roles these have in driving growth across the investment cycle. They reinforced that the imperative for growth has never been more present, with the last 6 months looking much more optimistic than the past two years. To conclude the morning sessions, Balderton Capital's James Wise undertook a VC spotlight, exploring fundraising, changes in the ecosystem, policy opportunities and challenges and where #venture is going. He highlighted a cultural shift in entrepreneurial behaviour and emphasised IPO success stories including Deliveroo and Wise, stating that we expect to see this surge in the upcoming five years. He concluded the morning discussions with a call to improve opportunities for exits and the capital markets taskforce reported on increasing liquidity for companies and investors across the lifecycle.