UK venture capital investment has seen continuous quarterly declines since the start of 2022, and dealmaking is expected to remain muted for the remainder of 2023.
Since the start of this year, UK-based startups have raised €7.6 billion (around $8.1 billion) across 1,015 deals, according to PitchBook data. The first three months of the year saw a 245.2% decline in total deal value and 61.7% drop in the total number of rounds when compared to the same period a year ago.
As Europe’s largest VC hub, the UK has been hit harder than many of its European peers due to its higher amount of late-stage companies. Fewer outsized deals and new unicorns have meant a fall in overall capital invested.
But a handful of mega-deals in the country have been completed in 2023. London-based consumer lender Abound raised over £500 million (around $622.9 million) from investors including K3 Ventures and GSR Ventures. Investment platform eToro secured $250 million in a round that included backers ION Group and SoftBank.
Here’s a big picture look at the UK’s startup ecosystem, showcasing key trends across dealmaking, fundraising and exits.
Featured image by Andrey_Kuzmin/Shutterstock
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