52% of total UK investment deals in 2024 were secured in London

New research reveals that London-based businesses secured over half of UK funding rounds in total between Q1 and Q3 of 2024, despite activity in the city observing an overall decline as the investment market cools.

The ‘Global Investment Report’, by sharetech platform Vestd, analysed Crunchbase data to assess the scale of global investment in 2024 and identify trends in funding across a range of regions and industries.

It found that businesses in London had the strongest investment performance across the UK this year so far, with 1,230 funding rounds taking place between Q1 and Q3 of 2024.

However, while Q1 showed a promising start with 474 total funding rounds, activity had cooled by 29.1% by the end of Q3 comparatively.

Funding rounds in total have also declined compared to the same period in 2023, with activity down by 30.4% – signalling a tougher investment environment for startups in the city.

Manchester and Edinburgh followed behind London in second and third, however had much lower funding rounds than the capital with 72 and 65 respectively in 2024. Both cities also saw a decrease in funding rounds compared to the same period last year.

Whilst Liverpool was only ranked 7th for number of funding rounds, it was the only city in the top 10 that reported a rise in funding, seeing an impressive 70.6% increase since the same period last year.

Regionally, Wales and Cumbria both had significant increases in their year to date funding rounds, with 133.3% and 85.7% increases respectively.

Commenting on the findings, Ifty Nasir, CEO of Vestd, said, “We are at a critical juncture in the global investment landscape. As funding struggles to regain momentum following broader market uncertainties, investors have become more selective, leading to many sectors observing a downward trend in funding, with early-stage funding hardest hit.

“This shift in the investment market presents a unique opportunity for founders to refine their value propositions and become resilient in demonstrating their growth potential and market fit. Increasingly, investors are focused on businesses that not only present a clear path to profitability but also align with key market drivers like operational efficiency and innovation. The ongoing surge in investment in sectors such as artificial intelligence represents the wider global trend towards digital transformation.

“With how competitive the funding landscape is, founders need tools that ease the process, allowing them to focus on wowing potential investors. That is why, as a direct response to these challenges, we have launched our new fully integrated platform InVestd Raise, to offer a simpler and more accessible approach to navigating funding challenges – helping founders to launch, raise investment, grow, mature and then cash in on their success, along with their teams!”