We joined the BVCA at their Management Team Awards to celebrate some of the success stories of the UK private equity (PE) & venture capital (VC) industry, in an awards ceremony held at the historic 8 Northumberland Avenue hotel.

The BVCA Management Team Awards are a recognition and celebration of managerial excellence and underline the important role PE and VC plays in the UK economy.

In light of the upcoming awards, we thought it was worth highlighting the ways in which private equity and venture capital investments have assisted both UK regional and national growth.

How have PE and VC investments helped shape the UK economy?

In the past few years, we have seen the venture capital and private equity industry becoming more and more globalised. Increasingly, funds are being raised internationally and invested globally.

On the other hand, company managers are increasingly looking to investors to provide the capital, knowledge and strategic partnerships they need in order to effectively achieve their goals.

Therefore, it is no surprise that many nations are encouraging venture capital and private equity activity as a way of boosting innovation and entrepreneurship while improving the country’s quality of employment, economic growth and wealth.

These efforts in the UK have resulted in the backing of over 2,200 companies by PE and VC investors. Collectively over £30 billion has been invested and more than 800,000 people are in employment as a result. 

These figures, which are steadily growing, help set the UK as an internationally competitive economy, since its vibrant VC and PE market positions the UK as an attractive investment hub.

Regional Growth

PE and VC has also been used as a way of supporting regional growth in an effort to minimise the divide between the UK’s richest and poorest regional economies. PE and VC activity has been crucial for regional development and has created jobs for thousands of people. High investment activity has been recorded in the North East, North West and the Midlands which collectively represent approximately 36% of the UK’s investment activity.

Investments have not only aided economic development of the regions but have also targeted a social impact. Regional businesses, from a range of sectors, which have received either private equity or venture capital backing develop innovative training programmes that support career progression for employees at all levels. This supports the region’s future development by equipping its human capital with the required skills for continuous growth while it also helps shape the entrepreneurs of the future. As the UK economy has been improving, programmes that support the nation’s entrepreneurial nature can lead the country to even greater success.

Success Stories

The regional winners in this year’s Management Team Awards represent the top private equity and venture capital-backed companies in the UK as selected by regional panels of industry experts. National winners will be announced at the Awards ceremony.

This year’s winners represent great examples of how private equity and venture capital can help the business grow and consequently the economy.

For example, Kee Safety, winner of the Midlands Mid-Market Private Equity-backed Management Team of the Year award, has risen from strength to strength since its creation in 1934. Initially backed by LDC and currently backed by Dunedin it has established itself as a leading global supplier of tubular fittings and fall protection systems. Investment has helped the company expand its product portfolio in the UK and global market while it provides employment for approximately 300 people in the UK. 

We are looking forward to this celebratory evening as we believe that managerial excellence should be recognised and encouraged, especially in the VC/PE backed businesses industry. Management teams of such firms are under maximum pressure from both investors and the markets they operate in and they have to be able to work against tight deadlines and under high levels of visibility. Ergo, we congratulate all the nominated management teams and we hope to continue seeing similar success stories in the future.

Sam Smith, Managing Director