This chart shows that 2023, although tracking above 2020 and 2018, is below 2019 and well below 2021 and 2022. At the current investment rate the year looks on track to end around 2018’s levels – we’ll need a few megadeals to change that. But those are the deals usually backed by investors who are most impacted by interest rate rises. But I’m never one to be too gloomy. Yes, investment volumes are slowing, but what’s happening to the companies themselves.
The 27,359 companies that have received that £150b are faring quite well. Fewer than five thousand (17.4% to be precise) have died. Nearly 10% of them have exited. Of course, nearly ten thousand of them are still at the seed stage and of course those businesses still have a lot of risk associated with them. But overall the cohort is proving surprisingly resilient.
That’s why at Beauhurst we track much more than just equity investment. Venture debt and innovation grants have a huge role to play; as does the support provided by accelerators; and, moreover, many businesses finance their growth themselves – that’s why we track all scaleups (regardless of whether they’ve received equity).
This £150b milestone is great news for the UK, but only quantifies part of the UK’s platform for growth. The odds are currently stacked against them, but there are vast numbers of startups and scaleups valiantly trying to defy those odds.
