UK remains top of the high-tech VC heap

Who needs football when you have seed capital?

The UK still accounts for the lion's share of Europe's venture capital funding for technology businesses, even though the total being invested has fallen significantly since the heady days of the dot-com bubble. More than a quarter of all Europe's technology VC investment in 2001 - E1.9bn (£1.22bn) - went to UK companies, more than any other European country. Germany has displaced France as Europe's number two, with E1.6bn (£1.02bn), though with 1,026 separate deals it narrowly beat the UK's total of 1,002. Technology accounted for 25 per cent, or E9.6bn (£6.17bn), of all funds raised for early stage and expansion of European enterprises in 2001, with 81 per cent invested in the venture capital stages. This was still 37 per cent down from the 2000 figure of E15.2bn (£9.77bn).