British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA)

“Growth and value cannot be achieved without sustainable solutions”, the BVCA’s Director of Policy, Isobel Clarke emphasised at the ESG Future Growth Forum yesterday.   The conference gathered members of the sustainable finance community to discuss scaling growth, innovation and governance.   Speaking on a panel alongside UK Finance and Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT), the BVCA explored how policy and regulation has evolved over the years and the Government’s ambition to make the UK a leader of sustainable finance.   Isobel discussed how essential it is to have capital flowing into the UK to continue investing in innovative companies that create sustainable solutions. Additionally, she highlighted private capital's long-term commitment to support companies alongside a need to ensure that proportionate and interoperable policies and frameworks are in place to best prepare private capital companies to meet ESG regulatory requirements.    Learn how to integrate ESG considerations into investment strategies through the BVCA’s Responsible Investor Toolkit here: https://lnkd.in/edwbP9yK

The inaugural Women’s Venture Capital Summit Europe takes place next month on 2-4 December 2024, with support from the BVCA. Tickets are available to BVCA members at a discounted rate using the code ‘BVCA20’. See below for more information ⬇️

"It was clear that they will be paying close attention to whether greater investment by UK pension funds investing in UK private capital will in turn, drive UK growth (and deliver returns to UK savers)." In the latest Insight article, Leon de Bono, the BVCA’s Managing Director for industry development reflects on a recent visit to North America, made in preparation for the BVCA’s LP roadshow next taking place in February 2025. Leon found many industry leaders on the other side of the pond are keeping a close eye on how Chancellor Rachel Reeves is reforming the UK’s pensions system to encourage more investment into business and infrastructure. Read the full Insight article here: https://lnkd.in/eapMA8ck For more information on the BVCA's Investor Roadshows to North America and Asia, click here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eA6FC9_B

Last week, the BVCA hosted its annual Technical Policy Conference, led by the BVCA’s Tax, Legal, Accounting and Regulatory committees. The conference brought together industry experts to discuss recent #legislative, #regulatory, #reporting, #sustainability and #taxation developments impacting the private capital industry. All photos from the event can be found here: https://lnkd.in/e3CRjpJK IQ-EQ, Belasko, Langham Hall

🔬 Removing barriers to scale-up funding can unleash the potential of UK physics deep-tech businesses.   🔭 That’s the conclusion of a new report from the Institute of Physics (IoP) on VC funding in the physics deep-tech sector, which was launched yesterday. The report highlights the strong pipeline of high-innovation physics-based businesses in the UK. It finds that if rates of investment for physics deep-tech matched those of other sciences, this would help drive growth in the economy through a potential £4.5bn more funding over the next five years.   📈 The BVCA’s own’ Venture Capital in the UK’ report, published this week, identifies ways to remove barriers to scale-up funding, through pensions investment reform and vehicles such as the British Growth Partnership. It shows that whilst the #venturecapital sector has proven resilient, fundraising from domestic investors remains a significant challenge.   The IoP’s research was carried out in consultation with a number of firms, including several BVCA members: Albion Capital Group LLP, Amadeus Capital Partners, British Business Bank, Development Bank of Wales, Future Planet Capital, IP Group plc, Northern Gritstone, Old College Capital, Oxford Science Enterprises, Parkwalk Advisors, Scottish Enterprise and Zero Carbon Capital.   You can read the IoP’s report here: https://lnkd.in/eSudvsF2   The BVCA’s Venture Capital Report can be read here: https://lnkd.in/eYkbxPVF

We are pleased to welcome Adempi Associates LLP as the latest BVCA member. Adempi is a regulatory consultancy that provides access direct to senior compliance specialists. The team at Adempi have advised BVCA members for over 15 years and are known for their technically astute, commercially minded advice. Awarded 'Best Training Provider' at the 2023 Compliance Register Awards, Adempi also offers in-person workshops and over 40 eLearning modules perfect for VC and PE firms.  Founded in 2019, Adempi was spun out of city law firm Bates Wells and prior to that many of the team, including founders Gillian Roche-Saunders and Dena Chadderton, were based within regulatory consultancy Bovill. For more information, visit their website www.adempi.co.uk.

📈 Strong returns – but the fundraising environment remains challenging💷   Today, the BVCA launches Venture Capital in the UK, a new annual report setting out the scale of VC investment in nations and regions across the UK.   The report shows that whilst the #venturecapital sector has proven resilient, fundraising from domestic investors remains a significant challenge. Over the long-term average, only around 40% of capital raised by UK venture funds typically comes from domestic sources, compared to over 70% in France and Germany and over 80% in Spain and Italy.   New data produced by the BVCA for this report finds that UK venture capital-backed businesses received £8bn of investment in 2023, with £5bn of venture equity capital crowding in a further £3bn from other investors.   British venture capital-backed businesses also added £20bn in GDP to the UK economy in 2023, underscoring the vital role these companies play in driving innovation, supporting jobs, and economic growth.   We need to get better at supporting young British companies to scale up. When UK companies look to continue to grow from series B stage funding and beyond, the significant investment gap in the UK means investment is often found from the US and elsewhere.   To achieve a thriving VC ecosystem, we must; ◼️ Put in place a stable and competitive tax system and regulatory framework, ◼️ Bridge the scale-up gap, ◼️ Increase UK pension investment in private capital, ◼️ Ensure government-supported investment vehicles support the early-stage ecosystem. Read the report here: https://lnkd.in/eYkbxPVF

The Future Governance Forum (FGF), in collaboration with the BVCA, is exploring the importance of scale-ups and the current operating environment for UK tech firms, for a report to be published in December 2024.   Venture capital firms, angel investors, entrepreneurs, founders and C-suite leaders are encouraged to share insights into the barriers and opportunities facing high-growth tech firms in the UK, which will be fed into the report.   Receiving industry insight is key as collected data will be used to help shape future policy recommendations and support initiatives aimed at fostering a thriving scale-up ecosystem in the UK.   The deadline for the survey is fast approaching with 3 days to go! Submit a response by 25 November here: https://lnkd.in/dqTJ6DDM   #venturecapital #angelinvestors #scaleups

Recently, the BVCA hosted its Emerging Managers and First-Time Fundraising Workshops.   The First-Time Fundraising Workshop is designed specifically for GPs raising their first fund. At this half-day workshop, we kicked off the session with a keynote from Fred Destin, founder at Stride.VC who delved into the importance of first-time funds for the VC ecosystem. Throughout the day we heard from senior industry experts as they provided a market overview, tips for first-time fundraising managers, the role of co-investments in strengthening GP-LP relationships and more. You can view all photos from the event here: https://lnkd.in/diK4YnCc   The Emerging Managers Workshop delved into common issues emerging managers face, with LPs and GPs providing informative insights. The sessions covered navigating macro-economic uncertainty, how collaborative partnerships between emerging managers and founders enable growth, optimising returns in a changing UK policy landscape and raising a successful successor fund. To view all the photos from the event, click here: https://lnkd.in/d3D7YCmB   Thank you to co-sponsors and supporter, Carta, Debevoise & Plimpton, Kin Group, Preqin.

BVCA Chief Executive Michael Moore welcomed this morning’s speech by the Competition and Markets Authority’s CEO, Sarah Cardell, as she launched the regulator’s new outreach programme with investors and start-ups.   The CMA’s CEO also emphasised the importance of stakeholder engagement and the regulator’s role in supporting growth and driving innovation. The three key points of today’s speech were:   ◼️ Competition is an engine for growth and an essential lever in industrial strategy. But that, in pursuing growth, competition can be balanced alongside other policy objectives. ◼️ How competition supports investment, and the CMA’s response to concerns about the impact of the competition regime on investment. ◼️ How the CMA continues to progress and evolve, whilst remaining true to its mandate.   The BVCA has been working with the CMA in recent months to help facilitate positive, constructive engagement between the regulator and the #privateequity and #venturecapital industry. This latest announcement builds on this ongoing work and aligns with the BVCA’s calls for a regulatory environment which encourages growth and supports businesses.   This newly announced approach will help further mutual understanding and confidence between the CMA and the industry. Getting competition policy right will help foster growth and maintain the stability of financial markets without unduly constraining market activity.   The BVCA looks forward to continuing our industry’s recent engagement with the CMA to help increase understanding of how regulators can support innovation and investment in our most promising businesses.