Europe’s venture capital market booming in 2021

The last 16 months have provided every aspect of society with an unprecedented challenge, yet Europe’s venture capitalists are fuelling a red-hot market that looks to be anything but challenged. 

While the startup market is booming globally, Europe’s scene of private startup investment deserves close attention for the particularly astounding rate at which innovation is accelerating. According to Dealroom’s latest report, Europe is the fastest growing major region by venture capital investment – outpacing both the US and China –  with investment in European startups having grown by 2.9x YoY to EUR49 billion in the first six months of 2021 alone.

A large part of this growth must be credited to the global transitioning to digital, which is allowing startups to scale faster than ever before. This is also allowing them to gain freedoms afforded by an increasingly borderless ecosystem, where startup teams can be based remotely and investment can come from anywhere. IW Capital is strongly backing this trend with recent investments in the tech sector including leading digital consultancy Olive Jar Digital, pioneering retail app Ubamarket, and most recently SimplyMeds, an e-pharmacy platform that serves both private consumers and NHS professionals.

Luke Davis, CEO of IW Capital, says: “The past year or so has signalled a step-change in the way we view small business in the UK, with trust in large firms dwindling and the trust for entrepreneurs and self starters growing rapidly. We all know someone who has taken the plunge into business as a result of furlough and lockdown and many have made businesses that are worth millions in doing so. 

“This desire to start up and go it alone looks set to continue in 2021 and beyond as the desire to support small firms grows from the point of view of both consumers and investors, as our research shows. At IW Capital, we have made several significant investments throughout the pandemic in companies that have gone on to enjoy tremendous success, and in doing so have seen record demand from investors to support them.

“Reopening, record levels of investment, consumers looking to spend and the ambition of the entrepreneurial economy all point in the direction of a summer of growth. The 20’s could well be the decade of the small business, making it even more vital to the UK economy than it is now.”