The exit plan needs to be part of the decision whether to invest. That’s the advice for business angels looking to invest in start-up and early stage businesses.  New research identifies that the average return of a pro-active exit is more than twice as high as those achieved by exits that occur opportunistically.

In one of the first academic studies to ask ‘how do exits happen?’ researchers from University of Glasgow Adam Smith Business School, University of East Anglia and University of Edinburgh Management School, highlight best practice that can be adopted by the business angel community.

Last week, Beauhurst launched The Deal, its annual equity report on investment trends in the UK's startups and scaleups. A massive £12b was invested over the course of 2019, a 58% increase from 2018.  They also saw a dramatic increase in interest from abroad, with more deals completed by foreign investors than ever before. 

New research by SmallBusinessPrices.co.uk analyses how neobanks are on the rise and why they’re so popular amongst consumers compared to traditional banks.

The latest Fintech M&A market report from Hampleton Partners, the international technology mergers and acquisitions advisor

Beauhurst has published The Deal - a review of publicly-announced equity fundraisings in 2019.  The report shows a record breaking £12 billion worth of equity was invested during 2019, but the number of deals completed continues to decline. For the second year in a row, early-stage companies have been hit the hardest.

Silicon Valley Bank, the bank of the world's most innovative companies and their investors, today released the 11^th edition of its Startup Outlook Report.

The Midlands Private Equity Growth Barometer released this week by BDO highlights the region’s 50 fastest-growing private equity-backed businesses based on turnover growth in the past three years.

The top 50 PE-backed businesses have made a considerable impact over the last three financial years, adding almost £1 billion to the regional economy, with combined revenues rising from £1.7 billion to £2.7 billion.

January has been a record breaking month in terms of megadeals, with six equity fundraisings worth over £50m secured by UK companies during the first 31 days of the year. This is more than the number secured in any single month in 2019, which saw a total of 35 megadeals completed in the year. If the UK’s fastest-growing companies continue to secure these deals at the same rate throughout the rest of 2020, then we could see that 2019 figure doubled by the end of the year.

Equity Gap, the Edinburgh based business angel syndicate, reports its 2019 performance, which saw the firm deliver 23 funding rounds, add 5 new companies to its portfolio and win the UK Business Angel Association’s ‘Most active investor in the regions’ award.

Equity Gap invested £3.6m last year, taking the total portfolio value since it was founded in 2010 to £16.2m. Factoring in the involvement of partners and other stakeholders, this activity leveraged a record total investment into the portfolio of £21.5m for the year.

Angel Investment Network (AIN), the UK’s largest online angel investment platform, has revealed its latest ‘State of the Angel Investment Nation’ findings. It is based on the data of more than 100,000 UK registered businesses looking for funding and 30,000 investors. 

Over one quarter (28 per cent) of UK small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are expecting a revenue bounce in the first three months following the UK’s official departure from the European Union on Friday January 31st.

Half of UK firms (51%) expect geopolitical tensions, such as Brexit, to have a positive effect on their business in 2020,