Venture capital firms rush to sign up as pension funds prepare £75bn bonanza
Another wave of the UK’s venture capital and growth investors have thrown their weight behind efforts to get pension money flowing into start-ups today by signing an industry-led Venture Capital Investment Compact.
A further 50 firms signed the venture compact today, which commits investors to channelling the country’s retirement cash into growth tech companies. The deal now counts 70 firms as signatories with a collective £100bn in assets under management (AUM).
In a statement today, Michael Moore, chief executive of the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, said the new signatories would help deliver pension savers “secure retirements”.
“UK private capital can help them achieve this, because, as an asset class, it has consistently delivered better returns for savers than public markets for decades,” he added.
“This is a great opportunity for British pension savers to benefit from returns garnered from VC innovation in the UK while helping businesses to grow, succeed and create jobs.”
The fresh signatories come after 20 initial firms signed the deal in October in a move which was cheered by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.
“This compact is a huge win – demonstrating that our world-renowned Venture Capital firms stand ready to help our pension providers allocate funding to our high-growth companies,” he said. “This could boost British pension pots to the tune of £1,000.”
Eight top pension money managers signed a similar Mansion House Compact deal in the summer to commit five per cent of their assets to start-ups, in a move which ministers claim will unlock an additional £75bn for high-growth businesses.