Wales sees biggest rise in value of equity deals in the UK shows new British Business Bank research

Wales saw the biggest percentage rise in the value of equity deals supporting the growth plans of small firms last year of any UK nation or region – although it has fallen back so far this year, suggests new research from the British Business Bank.

The 2004 Nations & Regions Tracker report from the economic development bank of the UK Government, shows that equity invested into Welsh start-ups and small firms – defined as employing up 249 staff – rose in value by 23% from £86.5m in 2022 to £106m last year.

While the number of equity deals in Wales was down 8% on the year, from 73 to 67, the value rise was driven by a small number of large investment rounds, with three deals accounting for more than 40%.

They were Cardiff-based cyber business Coincover (£24.8m), Cwmbran-based advanced digital advertising specialist Novatiq (£11m) and Cardiff-based payment authentication and verification solutions specialists MyPinPad (£10.4m).

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The fall in the number of equity deals last year in Wales was shallower than for the UK, which was down 25% on 2022. The number of equity deals in Wales accounted for 3.1% of the UK total, compared to 2.5% a year earlier. On value of deals, Wales represented 1.2% of the UK total, significantly up on 0.5% in 2022.

The value of deals for the UK as a whole was down 48%. Growth stage businesses in Wales experienced a doubling of equity deals between 2022 and 2023, while the fall in venture stage deals was considerably lower than the UK average ( minus 4% compared to minus 23%).

However, the British Business Bank, said for the first half of 2024 the numbe