After a booming first-half which saw the highest level of venture capital investment in UK and Irish tech companies for a decade (see here), the pace continued in the latter half of 2012. According to latest data from corporate finance firm, Ascendant, just over £1bn of venture capital was invested in UK/Irish tech firms last year, the highest level since 2001 (£1.9bn). This level of investment was 28% greater than in 2011, and also saw the number of deals over £500k increase by 9% from 228 to 248.
Almost half the funds (£456m) were invested in the Internet/Wireless sector, leaving Cleantech (£280m) and Software (£106m) trailing in a poor second and third positions. The biggest deal was the £97m invested in Tamar Energy which only launched in February 2012.
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