• Swindon & Wiltshire Economy
• Thursday February 15 2024
• Author Name: Peter Davison

South West’s businesses attracted £462 million of equity investment last year – TechSPARK

The South West’s tech sector helped attract £462 million of equity investment last year, according to a new report from TechSPARK.

Using data from Beauhurst, TechSPARK’s Annual Investment Report outlines that the region has not been immune to the wider national slowdown of equity investment, with figures for 2023 being down 50 per cent compared to 21/22.

But Bristol remains one of the UK Top 5 start-up hubs outside of London.

Despite being home to fewer high-growth companies in 2023, Bristol’s high-growth companies generated a total turnover exceeding £4.15 billion, says the report.

The city outperformed fourth place Birmingham in terms of rounds closed and raised, as well as average turnover per company.

TechSPARK said this was a “hugely positive for the region’s future growth, as  all global stats point to fewer, smaller investments being made, with deals taking longer to close.”

TechSPARK chairman Nick Sturge MBE said: “While it has been a challenging year for UK-based companies, and despite this overall dip, the South West has maintained the level of investment activity that previous national and global statistics predicted and there’s evidence in this report of strong sector investment.”

Tech and IP remain the standout areas of investment in the region, receiving 58.7 per cent of the investment, while investment within industrials is on the up, as the sector takes over business and professional services as the second most invested.

Cleantech, greentech and net zero, as well as medical and health & wellbeing all stand out as sectors of significant interest within this report, taking in a combined £234 million of investment.

“This drive in healthtech and life sciences will, no doubt, be in great part due to the excellent support and facilities available across the region,” said Nick.

“The drive for environmentally focused investment is certainly an indicator that Net Zero will be a key focus as we approach 2050. Either way, these are areas to watch for future growth.”

The report was unveiled at Bristol’s Armada House. Supported by a panel of regional leaders and investment experts, the overall consensus regarding this state of play is one of positivity.

Nina Searle, partner at TLT and techSPARK supporter, added: “Despite the overall dip, the South West looks to have maintained a similar level of activity as the national statistics would suggest and investment areas across sectors have remained consistent compared to 2022.

“We don’t expect to see an immediate reversal of these trends, with the quality of founders and businesses, and the strength of the wider ecosystem in the South West, there are plenty of reasons for optimism.”

The 2023 South West Equity Investment Report, is produced by techSPARK, a not-for-profit network for tech trailblazers in Bristol and Bath.

Its ongoing mission is to proactively connect and support start-ups, scale-ups, SMEs and global corporations by focusing on connections, investment and talent.