EARLY STAGE LOSES APPEAL

Early stage allocations in Europe have fallen, accounting for under 15 per cent of total private equity investments in European technology for the period July 1 to October 31, according Tornado Insider’s Data Service. This is down markedly from 25.4 per cent for the same period in 2000.

Average deal size in Europe, particularly in later stage, has decreased by 20 per cent. For the year to date, average deal size is EURO7.7 million, down from EURO9.2 million in 2000. However, early stage rounds are slightly larger this year at EURO4.1 million, up from EURO3.6 million. While later stage rounds have shrunk from EURO19.3 million to EURO10.5 million.