Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment, if any, they have made of private equity as an investment vehicle.

Private equity and venture capital have provided over £27 billion of investment into more than 3,900 UK companies in the past five years. Between 2008 and 2014 private equity and venture capital generated on average 14.9% annual returns for pension funds and other investors (source: British Venture Capital & Private Equity Association).

The consultation ‘Financing growth in innovative firms’ published in August 2017 recognised that the UK’s private equity industry is very developed, with the UK host to a quarter of the top 20 private equity investors in the world, and the government’s response set out a plan to strengthen the UK’s position as a global leader in the market for growth capital for innovative businesses. Further measures were set out at Budget 2018.