Entrepreneurialism "is alive and well", says EV

INVESTMENT fund manager Enterprise Ventures believes entrepreneurialism is ‘alive and well’ after seeing its number of investments grow last year.

The company, which has offices in Preston, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and Birmingham, said it received a record number of more than 2,100 applications for funding during 2011.

The venture capitalist invested £19.5m through 179 deals – an average of more than £100,000 per transaction.

The figure compares to a total of £7m invested in 102 transactions in 2010.

EV’s chief executive Jonathan Diggines said: “Napoleon may actually have recognised the British spirit of enterprise when he called us a nation of shopkeepers.

“The business world has moved on just a little since then, and now it’s probably more accurate to say that we’re a nation of budding entrepreneurs.

“The number of applications we have seen shows that entrepreneurship is thriving in the UK regions – and possibly has become even stronger during the current downturn.”

Mr Diggines added: “We want to see substantially more private and institutional investment in the small firms sector.

“The government has provided more than enough support for the clearing banks – it should now look to support other funders with the reach and track record to put funds to the best use in small businesses.”