UK and Irish technology businesses closed deals worth a disclosed £635m, from 133 transactions worth over £500,000, during Q1 2015. The figures, from Ascendant Corporate Finance, marked an 18 per cent improvement rate over the corresponding period in 2014 when it comes to value, and 56 per cent in volume.
The software fundraising space grew by 70 per cent in value and 112 per cent in volume, over 2012. The most active regions were London and Scotland, responsible for 50 per cent and 17 per cent of deals respectively – London’s share of VC money was 77 per cent.
On a city-by-city basis, 64 London tech companies received VC, 13 in Edinburgh and 10 in Dublin
The 10 biggest deals were:
(1) WorldRemit
Amount: £65m
Sector: Fintech
Investors: Accel Partners, Technology Crossover Ventures
Spending it on: Expanding US office and targeting more emerging markets
(2) FarfetchAmount: £58m
Sector: Ecommerce
Investors: Jose Marin, Fabrice Grinda, e.ventures, DST Global, Vitruvian Partners, Condé Nast
Spending it on: International expansion with new local language sites, opening new offices in global markets, fuel omni-channel growth and customer propositions including launching same-day delivery
(3) TransferWise
Amount: £38m
Sector: Fintech
Investors: Seedcamp, IA Ventures, Index Ventures, Valar Ventures, Richard Branson, Andreessen Horowitz
Spending it on: Open office in the US, Germany and Australia, double number of “currency routes” from 292
(4) Blippar
Amount: £30m
Sector: Video and augmented reality
Investors: Qualcomm Ventures, Landsdowne Partners
Spending it on: Expand engineering team and extend global reach of image-recognition capabilities
(5) Green Biologics
Amount: £28m
Sector: Agriculture technology
Investors: ConvergInce Holdings, Morningside Technology Partners, Oxford Capital Partners, Capricorn Venture Partners, Sofinnova Partners, Swire Pacific
Spending it on: Expand production, convenrt a Minnesota ethanol plant to make butanol and acetone
Read on to find out which other companies made the top ten, including one that helps you identify music.
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