The UK venture capital (VC) funding landscape saw a decline in deal activity during the first five months of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. The total volume of VC deals in the UK fell by 28.7% from 819 deals in January-May 2022 to 584 deals in January-May 2023. The corresponding value of these deals fell by 51.6% from $13 billion during January to May 2022 to $6.3 billion worth of funding raised during January to May 2023, reveals GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The decline in deal activity in the UK shows the challenging environment for VC funding in the UK, influenced by various factors including ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, economic uncertainties, rising interest rates, inflation, and looming recession fears.”
An analysis of GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database reveals that despite the decline, the UK continues to be the top European market for VC funding activity. Moreover, it also remains among the top five markets for VC funding activity globally, both in terms of deal volume and value.
The UK accounted for 6.4% share of the total number of VC funding deals announced globally during January to May 2023, while its share in terms of the corresponding funding value stood at 6%.
Some of the notable VC funding deals announced in the UK during January to May 2023 included $602 million worth of fundraising by Abound, $250 million raised by Buildier.ai, $250 million worth of fundraising by eToro, $140 million raised by Oxbotica, and $136 million worth of fundraising by Raylo Group.
