The State of Equity Investment in Wales 2023
Sam Peckett, 03 August 2023
In partnership with the Development Bank of Wales, we’ve put together a report on the Welsh equity investment landscape, examining top sectors, investors and succession details.
Below we’ve summarised the report’s key findings, but if you want to dig into the details, you can read the full report.
Key Findings
We analysed 443 companies that have incorporated since 2019 and have founder education data available.
- Wales is home to 1,583 active high-growth companies, representing 3.44% of the UK's total and 6.18% of high-growth companies outside London and the South East.
- Over the past decade, these companies secured £990m in equity investment, peaking at £130m in 2020.
- The number of equity deals involving Welsh companies constituted 5.91% of the total deal activity outside of London and the South East.
Regional Breakdown
- South East Wales is the top region, with 940 high-growth companies, largely due to the strength of Cardiff as an established high-growth ecosystem.
- Mid and West Wales is home to 358 high-growth companies. Swansea University is an important part of the ecosystem as 26 companies have spun out of the institution to commercialise their research, more than any other university in Wales.
- North Wales is home to 285 high-growth companies, with Flintshire being the top local authority in terms of the number of high-growth companies.
- The Development Bank of Wales is based in Wrexham—it’s the top investor for the whole nation, having participated in 250 equity deals between 2013 and 2022.
Equity Investment
Equity investment plays a pivotal role in the development of companies by funding innovation, increasing business growth pace, and supporting succession planning. Between 2013 and 2022, there have been 1,357 equity deals into Welsh businesses, with over £100m invested in each of the last three years.
Equity raised in Wales dropped slightly in 2022 compared to 2020 and 2021. This is largely in line with the rest of the UK, as rising interest rates, the risk of a recession and the aftermath of a frenzy of capital deployment in 2021 saw investment slow.
Equity investment is an important growth enabler in the region, supporting half of the companies in Wales that have achieved over 100% annual growth in turnover over the last three years.
Equity investment into Welsh businesses (2013-2022)
Sectors for Investment
Software-as-a-service (SaaS) is the top sector in the Welsh high-growth ecosystem by the number of equity fundraising deals over the last decade, with 260 deals since 2013.
Three other sectors saw at least 100 equity fundraising deals since 2013, with a further 12 securing at least 30 deals. Find out more about the top sectors in our full report.
Top exits
Welsh businesses account for 2.84% of all UK exit transactions. There have been 152 exits for Welsh companies since 2013, with building materials supplier Brickability having the top exit via IPO at a valuation of £150m. SPTS Technologies exited for £216m via acquisition, the most of any company in Wales in the last decade.
Methodology
The businesses in scope in this report are high-growth, private companies headquartered in Wales that have raised equity between 2013 and 2022. To be included in the analysis, any investment must be:
- Some form of equity investment
- Secured by a non-listed UK company
- Issued between 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2022
Beauhurst identifies companies as high-growth if it hits one of our eight tracking triggers, which includes accelerator attendances, academic spinouts, high-growth lists and more. To find out how Beauhurst’s searchable database of private UK companies can help your business, book a free demonstration.
Key takeaways
The high-growth ecosystem in Wales is strong, with many successful startups. The data suggests that there’s untapped potential in Wales, with the Development Bank of Wales and other investors playing crucial roles in kick-starting growth journeys by helping companies to secure funding and bring innovative technology and practices to the market. Take a look at the full report to read up on extra details, such as succession transactions, case studies and the breakdown of spinouts.
Grow your business.
Get access to unrivalled data on all the companies you need to know about, so you can approach the right leads, at the right time.
Book a demo today to see all of the key features of our platforms, as well as the depth and breadth of data available.
An associate will work with you to build a sophisticated search, returning a dynamic list of organisations that match your ideal customer profile.