Over £6.7 billion invested in UK’s tech businesses in 2016

Tech businesses in the UK attracted more than £6.7 billion in venture capital funding and private equity funding in 2016, more than the amount invested in tech businesses from any other country in Europe, new research from London & Partners has shown.

The research found that over a third of the amount invested in tech businesses last year went to London-based businesses, whilst a total of £4.7 billion in private equity investment went to the UK’s tech sector. This brings the total investment into the country’s tech businesses since 2011 to £9.6 billion.

Impact

The research showed that the UK’s tech companies received more investment and saw more mergers and acquisitions than any other European tech businesses after the EU referendum in June, indicating that the Brexit vote had little impact on investors.

London’s tech businesses were found to have attracted £1.4 billion of the £1.9 billion in venture capital funding last year, with e-commerce in particular seeing a record investment of £486 million.

Several major tech companies announced their investment plans for London in late 2016, with Google revealing a £1 billion investment in new headquarters in King’s Cross and Apple planning to open a new Battersea-based headquarters.

Unbeatable

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan commented: “With our unbeatable blend of talent, creativity and access to finance, it is not surprising that London continues to go from strength to strength as the undisputed tech capital of Europe.”

Khan said that despite Britain’s vote to leave the EU, London continues to attract record amounts of investment and remains the world’s top city to grow a business. He added that he is confident that this vital sector of the UK’s economy will continue to generate jobs, investment and world-leading technology in the coming decades.