Venture capital investment in UK start-ups falls in Q1 2024, report says

By Elizabeth Howcroft

LONDON (Reuters) – Venture capital investment in UK companies fell in the first three months of 2024, in the worst quarter for UK fundraising since the early months of the COVID pandemic, a report showed on Tuesday.

UK start-ups raised $3.9 billion in Q1 2024, down from $4.8 billion in the previous quarter, a report by HSBC Innovation Banking and Dealroom showed, the lowest level since the second quarter of 2020.

HSBC Innovation Banking said in a statement that venture capital investment in the UK has “stabilised following a sharp global reset” in the second half of 2022.

Venture capital investment surged during the COVID pandemic, with companies raising record amounts of funding, but global flows have generally dried up since then, as higher interest rates have made investors more risk-averse.

The UK fintech sector received the most funding in Q1 2024 – $1.4 billion – lead by digital bank Monzo’s raise which was announced in March.

By start-up investment, the UK ranks third globally, behind the United States and China and ahead of India, the report said.

More than half of the venture capital investment to UK companies came from overseas, the report said. Just 36% of 2024’s flows so far are from domestic investors, down from as much as 64% in 2013, the data showed.

A body representing UK fintech companies on Monday urged the government to do more to encourage domestic investors to put money into the industry.

HSBC Innovation Banking, formerly the UK arm of Silicon Valley Bank, is a HSBC subsidiary launched in June 2023.

(Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft; Editing by Ros Russell)