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Record £11.9bn invested in London’s smaller businesses in 2021

Private equity firms are predicting a busy first two months of deals next year
Private equity firms are predicting a busy first two months of deals next year

Equity investment in London’s smaller businesses hit a record £11.9bn in 2021, according to data released today by the British Business Bank.

This was an 89 per cent increase year over year, with the number of deals announced in the capital increasing by 23 per cent to 1,286, the Bank’s annual Small Business Equity Tracker showed. 

The upward trend continued in the first quarter of 2022 with £7.6bn of equity investment injected in London’s smaller businesses, the highest amount invested in a single quarter. This was almost twice the £4.3bn invested in Q1 2021.

Technology and IP-based businesses received the most investment last year at £4.9bn, almost double the £2.5bn investment in 2020.

“London’s status as a global tech centre is once again reinforced by these outstanding and record levels of investment,” said Steven Conibear, the bank’s UK Network Director for London said. “It is truly the place for innovative and ambitious smaller businesses to locate and secure the external finance to support their growth.”

£4.2bn was invested into businesses and professional services companies in London last year, up from £2.5bn in 2020, a 65 per cent increase.

In total, £18.1bn was invested in smaller businesses across the UK in 2021.