Venture capital (VC) investment in UK start-up companies saw tremendous year-on-year (YoY) growth in 2021, compared to 2020, according to GlobalData. The leading data and analytics company reveals that deal value more than doubled from $12.8 billion in 2020 to $32.9 billion in 2021, while VC funding deal volume rose by 22.6% from 1,522 in 2020 to 1,866 in 2021.

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “While month-on-month analysis saw fluctuations—December 2021, for example, witnessed a decline in deal volume compared to November 2021, but an improvement in funding value—YoY growth has been tremendous. A YoY jump of 156.4% in VC funding value shows that the UK remains a key European market.

“However, it is not just Europe: The UK also remains a key global market. VC investors worldwide are not only keeping an eye on start-ups in the country, but are also investing large amounts of money. A huge 78 deals valued more than or equal to $100 million were announced in the UK during 2021.”

Some of the notable VC funding deals that were announced in 2021 include $800 million raised by Revolut in July; $700 million raised by Anthemis Group in December; $600 million raised by CMR Surgical in June; $530 million raised by Snyk in September; and $500 million raised by Monzo Bank in December.

Reflecting on Revolut’s success and the outlook for the wider T&T industry, Craig Bradley, Travel & Tourism Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Travel & Tourism start-ups are coming into the industry at a turbulent but exciting time. There are always winners and losers during times of global economic hardship. For example, during the 2009 economic recession, consumer behavior switched significantly towards cost, resulting in many travel services that typically relied on brand loyalty becoming commoditized. Therefore, it is no coincidence that travel price comparison site, Skyscanner, turned its first profit during this time. New T&T companies in 2022 must learn from this, identify changing consumer behaviors in the pandemic and capitalize on the market with their proposition.”