Equity Market Update
H1 2024
H1 2024 v H2 2023
(previous half)
£6.50b
Invested
9.8% decrease in amount invested
1,061
Deals
1.5% decrease in number of deals
H1 2024 v H1 2023
(Year-on-Year)
£6.50b
Invested
3.3% increase in amount invested
1,061
Deals
17.0% decrease in number of deals
Q2 2024 v Q1 2024
£4.00b
Invested
60.4% increase in amount invested
535
Deals
1.7% increase in number of deals
Data for this report was finalised on 26 July 2024.
To be included in our analysis, an investment must be:
- Dated between 1 January 2016 to 30 June 2024
- Be publicly announced
- Some form of equity investment
- Secured by a non-listed UK company
Headline funding figures
Half comparison (H1 2024 vs H2 2023)
Looking at H1 2024 as a total, £6.50b was raised across 1,061 announced deals.
This equates to a decrease of 9.8% in the amount raised compared to H2 2023. The number of deals stayed roughly similar with a modest 1.5% decrease.
The total amount invested in H1 2024 increased slightly by 3.3% compared to H1 2023, but the total number of deals decreased by 17.0%. This indicates that the average deal size has increased compared to the same half last year, but decreased compared to H2 2023.
Quarterly review
We also looked at the comparison between Q2 2024 and the previous quarter. The trend of alternating quarters of high and low amounts invested continued, with the amount invested in Q2 2024 60.4% higher than Q1 2024. The number of deals only increased by 1.7% compared to Q1 2024.
The amount invested was comparable to Q2 2023 (only a small increase of 2.8%), but the number of deals declined 18.3% across the same period. So, in theory if we continue on this trajectory we could see fewer deals made and less overall investment in 2024. But with a new government and plenty of change on the horizon such as the government’s plans to align the UK Infrastructure Bank and the British Business Bank — a change that happened just weeks after Labour won the election — there’s still some promise of positive news for 2024.
Regional trends
H1 2024
As usual, London dominated with 47.2% of deals and 61.8% of the amount invested into companies headquartered there.
For the number of deals Scotland came in second with 10.2% which seems to be consistent with Scottish deals more broadly when we look at more recent data. The South East came in third with 7.8%.
In terms of the amount raised, the North West came second 10.9%, and the South East third with 7.5%.
Wales secured 3.4% of the total deals, and Northern Ireland equated to 0.9%. And for the amount invested, Wales 0.6% overall and Northern Ireland secured 0.5%.
Q2 2024
In a similar story to the analysis by half, 48.7% of deals and 62.6% of the amount invested went to companies based in London, both slightly higher proportions when compared to Q1 2024.
Scotland came in second place for number of deals (10.8%), closely followed by the South East (9.1%). However the North East came in clear second place for amount invested with 15.4% of the total.
No big outliers this quarter — these numbers are all in line with what we’ve seen from our data in the past.
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Industries
H1 2024
Software claimed the top spot for both number of deals (48.3%) and amount invested (40.1%) in H1 2024. Software is a huge industry with many types of product and service falling under this category such as mobile apps, productivity tools like CRM systems and file editing programmes, and even applications such as Zoom — many of which are used daily in a work setting — so it’s not a huge surprise that Software gained the top spot.
Second was Information technology, telecommunications and data with 30.3% of deals and 33.3% of amount invested. Supply chain, manufacturing and commerce models came third for number of deals (29.6%), but Financial services came in third for amount invested (23.9%).
These industries have been gaining notable investment in recent years but some other standouts were Lifestyle and entertainment (18.4% of deals), Professional Services (17.8%) and Property, infrastructure and construction (16.5%). Education also made the top ten list with 49 deals (4.6% of deals made).
Q2 2024
Software companies, after dominating investment in Q1 2024 (with 49% of deals and 56.9% of pounds invested), saw a reduced proportion of investment in Q2 2024, with 47.5% of deals but only 29.7% of the amount invested.
Information technology, telecommunications and data companies took the top spot for amount invested with 36.1% of the total, and Property, infrastructure and construction came in third with 25.5%.
In terms of number of deals made, Information technology, telecommunications and data made the list again, coming in second place. Supply chain, manufacturing and commerce models came in third securing 28.2% of all deals.
Deal sizes
H1 2024
When comparing by half, the difference in mean deal size is minimal — an 8.4% decrease from H2 2023 to H1 2024 (from £6.7m to £6.1m).
Q2 2024
As we’ve seen in previous years, there’s been a significant jump in the average deal size this quarter — we’ve recently seen this pattern of alternating quarters when it comes to deal size so it’s not a huge surprise, but the reason for this pattern is not immediately clear. The average deal size for Q2 2024 was £7.48m whereas in Q1 2024 it was £4.74m.
Biggest deals of H1 2024
The top ten biggest deals have been selected looking at equity investment only.
Megadeal = £50m or more Gigadeal = £100m or more
So far in 2024, we’ve seen 13 megadeals and five gigadeals.
Amber Therapeutics
Amount: £78.9m
Deal Date: 10 June 2024
Location: London
Industry: Medical devices and instruments
Amber Therapeutics develops an implantable medical device to treat urinary incontinence using neuromodulation therapy.
Rocco Forte Hotels
Amount: £86.1m
Deal Date: 17 January 2024
Location: London
Industry: Hotels, B&Bs and other short-term accommodation
Rocco Forte Hotels operates a chain of luxury hotels across Europe, from Edinburgh to Sicily. The company was valued at £1.27b earlier this year, making our Unicorn Report for the first time.
Build A Rocket Boy
Amount: £87.0m
Deal Date: 16 January 2024
Location: Edinburgh
Industry: Video games
Build A Rocket Boy develops video games and is the only Scottish company to make the top ten deals list.
Myricx Bio
Amount: £90.0m
Deal Date: 28 June 2024
Location: London
Industry: Pharmaceuticals
Myricx Bio operates a drug discovery company, focusing on cancers and viral infections where a specific protein, named NMT, plays a part. It spun out of Imperial College London in 2019.
Pheon Therapeutics
Amount: £95.5m
Deal Date: 21 May 2024
Location: Hertfordshire
Industry: Biotechnology, Pharmaceuticals
Pheon Therapeutics develops cancer therapeutics that specifically target cancer cells. The company spun out from King’s College London in 2015 and has raised a total of £151m.
Monzo
Amount: £150m
Deal Date: 8 May 2024
Location: London
Industry: Challenger bank
Monzo operates a challenger bank that can be accessed via its mobile app, wherein users can track and budget their money, instantly open a savings account, and access loans.
HarperCrewe
Amount: £200m
Deal Date: 24 April 2024
Location: London
Industry: Property development and construction
HarperCrewe designs, builds and sells houses. The company was only founded in 2019 and has already raised £200m in one single fundraising event.
Monzo
Amount: £340m
Deal Date: 5 March 2024
Location: London
Industry: Challenger bank
This is the second time Monzo has made the list, this time raising a further £340m bringing its total raised to £1.42b in equity.
RSK Group
Amount: £500m
Deal Date: 17 June 2024
Location: Cheshire
Industry: Environmental consultancy
RSK Group provides consultancy and technical services to companies in the engineering and environmental sectors.
Wayve
Amount: £840m
Deal Date: 7 May 2024
Location: London
Industry: Software
Wayve develops software for self-driving cars that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning technology.
About the authors
lily ruaah
Lily is a Content Associate and professional writer, with over six years of experience. She is responsible for content creation at Beauhurst and specialises in both creative and analytical writing. Prior to this, she completed a BA and MA in Creative Writing.
Ben Hyde
Ben is a Senior Graphic Designer, creating everything from branding materials to visual content for Beauhurst’s blog and long-form reports. He has a keen eye for detail and a passion for good design. Ben holds a BA in Graphic Design from the University of Cumbria.
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