news in brief AUTUMN 2020


particular were highly attractive to equity investors, with investment value increasing by 69 per cent, compared to 2018, a much larger increase than that seen in the overall market. The Small Business Equity Tracker


report, which analyses Beauhurst data on equity investments throughout the UK, provides an important benchmark of the market immediately prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. It shows the value of total equity


investment in the UK’s smaller businesses rising 24 per cent to £8.5bn in 2019 – the highest amount recorded – and a record number of deals, rising 4 per cent to 1,832 with deal sizes up by 21 per cent. Fiſty two per cent of deals took place outside London, with the South West, Scotland and Northern Ireland showing a strong increase by deal numbers. Keith Morgan, CEO, British Business


Uncertain future: The pandemic has had a devastating effect on the travel industry


cent booked rail; 48 per cent booked car hire or chauffeur-driven vehicles and 18 per cent booked other forms of travel including channel crossings. While over a fiſth of TMC clients


booked marine/offshore and energy, 21 per cent booked personnel in construction and engineering and 15 per cent booked from the financial and banking industries and 13 per cent in manufacturing and technology. Eight per cent reported booking those in the entertainment, sport and music sectors and a similar number reported clients using them for personal and private trips. Thirteen per cent were in a range of other sectors including defence, medical, charity and retail. n


A RECORD YEAR FOR TECH INVESTMENT


E


quity investment in the UK’s tech businesses increased by 27 per cent in 2019 to £4.0bn, the highest


www.smeweb.com


“ Ensuring our high-potential later stage companies have the capital they need to compete on the global stage will be crucial to powering


the economic recovery.” Alice Hu Wagner, British Business bank


amount since the series began in 2011, according to the British Business Bank’s annual Small Business Equity Tracker report. The tech sector remains highly


attractive to equity investors, accounting for 47 per cent of total equity investment in UK SMEs through 691 deals in that year. The sectors receiving the largest share of deals were soſtware (425 deals worth £2bn) and life sciences (78 deals worth £540m). The verticals attracting the greatest amount of equity investment in 2019 were Soſtware as a Service (471 deals worth £2.5bn), FinTech (193 deals worth £1.8bn) and AI (173 deals worth £880m). Soſtware Service companies in


SME magazine 5


Bank, said: “The UK’s small business equity finance market saw a record year in 2019 with investment amounts soaring to £8.5bn. This was a clear sign of investor confidence in UK smaller businesses located across the country and their potential for growth as well as the strong fundamentals of the UK economy as a place to start and grow a business.” Alice Hu Wagner, the bank’s Managing


Director, Strategy Economics and Business Development, said: “The Equity Tracker report illustrates a strong interest in growth stage investment in the equity market in 2019, with a particular focus on tech businesses. Ensuring our high-


Alice Hu Wagner, British Business Bank


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