There has been some useful data announced recently, which could be considered if you are investment planning in Oswestry or the adjacent Shropshire area.
The latest figures reveal that venture capital (VC) investment worth around £69.8 million was raised by businesses in the Midlands region in the last quarter of 2024. This sum represents a 78% increase on the £39.3 million generated in quarter 3 (Q3), while across the region, 22 transactions were completed, up from 18 in Q3.
While deals were spread fairly evenly across the region, the highest volumes took place in Birmingham. Most eye-catching was the IT sector – software in particular – which recorded the highest investment volume, with over £16.5 million put into eight companies covering financial, communications and network management software. These deals appear to reflect a broader trend with recent research, showing 23% of private business owners in the Midlands viewing VC as a way to finance greater business diversification in 2025.
On a national level, the UK enjoyed a healthy end to 2024, raising a total of £15.5 billion in venture capital investment – the highest in Europe – as Q4 funding soared from £3.1 billion to £4.4 billion. Much of this was driven by AI (artificial intelligence) data centre firm Greenscale, which raised $1.3 billion, while Insider raised £409 million, and Lighthouse raised £303 million. In total, 569 businesses made up the investment.
These results follow on from a survey in which over 90% of UK private business owners expressed confidence they will see growth in 2025.
