UK tech firms swallow $1.6bn of VC cash in 2014

UK leads Europe in number of technology firms bagging investor cash last year

Technology companies based in the UK bagged more than $1.6bn (£1.04bn) of venture capital- (VC) backed cash last year, outperforming the rest of Europe.

According to the latest CB Insights report, investment activity in VC-backed tech firms across Europe reached a four-year high in terms of both the number of deals signed and the amount they were worth. Overall, funding rocketed 78 per cent annually to $5.7bn while the number of deals "slightly ticked up" to 855.

In the UK, the value of investments in tech firms rose 78 per cent annually to $1.6bn - the highest in Europe - and the number of deals over the same period was up slightly at 225.

The funding went mainly to firms in London - 67 per cent of deals went to firms in the capital. But two of the largest VC deals were awarded to firms based in Northwich and Hampshire.

Earlier on today, KPMG also gave the thumbs up to the UK technology sector and claimed it was just "a matter of time" before the country's tech market rivalled that of Silicon Valley.