Wednesday 14th Jul 2010
Press Release
Growth in Early Stage Tech Investments in Europe
Europe sees growth in total capital invested in early stage tech investment although number of deals declines further. North America sees decline in both total number and total amount of tech investment in Q2 2010.
London, July 14, 2010: Calibre One, a leading international Executive Search organisation focused on venture capital and private equity backed companies, today released the Calibre One Index, a quarterly review of the transatlantic tech investment.
The Index shows that Europe has seen further growth in the total capital invested in tech companies for the second quarter of the year. However the total number of venture capital investments in both North America and Europe has declined.
After an encouraging start to 2010, the amount of venture capital in Europe has continued to grow into the second quarter of the year, with the total amount invested in European companies rising from US$632m in quarter one 2010 to $740m in quarter two. However the total number of investments has continued to decline, falling from 178 in quarter one to 144 in quarter two.
Comparatively, after an excellent opening quarter to 2010, the Calibre One Index shows that there was a total of US$4.1bn venture capital invested in North America in Q2, down from $4.8bn in Q1. However relative to the whole of 2009, the figures are certainly more positive (Q4 2009 only $2.8bn invested). In terms of the total number of North American investments, these fell from 496 in Q1 2010 to 333 in the second quarter.
The Cleantech sector once again shows good growth, with solar demonstrating a resurgence, as well as there being a large number of follow on rounds.
Mark Webster, Managing Partner at Calibre One Palo Alto, commented, “Even with the fall in US investments, the signs are encouraging in terms of recent exit activity. The Index shows that Q2 has been the best quarter for venture backed IPOs since the close of 2007. An improvement in year on year performance in M&A activity, specifically for internet and computer software companies, is also encouraging for the remainder of 2010. These positive signs are affecting the whole eco-system and giving hope of the industry’s rebound.”
With large investments in TheHut, Interresolve and Icera, Balderton Capital were the most active European investor in Q2. The team at Balderton made some of their best investments in the last down-cycle between 2002 and 2005 when other VCs in EMEA were very inactive.
The relative inactivity of Europe’s VCs seems to have offered opportunity for US based funds to make some interesting investments into some of the region’s top-rated start-ups including a $10m round for Huddle.net led by Matrix Partners, and a $7m round into Criteo led by Bessemer Venture Partners.
Philip Boyd, Partner at Calibre One London, commented, “As the venture capital industry recovers, we’re seeing a new optimism emerge led initially in the US and now filtering through to the European market as well. VCs are still being cautious with their investments but optimism is growing. As a business we are seeing an increase in US companies expanding into Europe, and European businesses looking to strengthen their domestic management teams and expand internationally. ”
About Calibre One:
With offices in London, San Francisco and Palo Alto, Calibre One is the world’s leading executive search organisation dedicated to working with high-growth technology businesses and their investors to find outstanding talent to help them realise their true value. Our ‘no stone left unturned’ approach to each assignment produces results that consistently surpass our competitors. This has enabled us to build partnerships with the world’s leading private equity investors and their portfolio companies.
