Venture capital investment in the South West expands in Q4

More than £104.2m of venture capital (VC) investment was raised by businesses in the South West between October and December, up 82% from the £56.8m raised in Q3 2024, according to KPMG’s latest Venture Pulse report.

This meant the South West ranked fourth in terms of VC investment across the UK regions in Q4, trailing only London (£2.9bn), the South East (£637.8m) and the East of England (£480.5m), which encompass Oxford and Cambridge respectively.

Twenty-eight transactions were completed across the region, up from 21 in the previous quarter, with the highest proportion of deals taking place in Bristol, where seven VC investments took place.

£47.4m, over half of the total figure raised in the region in Q4, was generated by investment into Huboo Technologies Ltd, a B2B products and services provider based in Bristol offering order fulfilment services for e-commerce sellers.

Investment into Huboo Technologies drove an overall strong quarter for both B2B and B2C product and service providers in the South West, with £73.9m invested into a total of 13 companies, spanning logistics, aerospace, environmental services and automotive.

IT was also a robust sector in terms of VC investment, with more than £14.7m invested across 11 regional companies.

David Williams, office senior partner for the South West at KPMG UK, said: “It’s great to see such a steep increase in VC investment in the South West during Q4, positioning it as the fourth largest UK region for the quarter, which is testament to the region’s thriving private business ecosystem.

“Looking ahead to 2025, we’re excited to see the continued growth of the South West’s most promising firms, which span a huge range of sectors, especially those that make the most of VC funding to pursue expansion.”