Venture Capital funds drop 69%

VENTURE Capital investment in Irish firms fell by €369 million last year, a 69% drop to €166m, figures released by PricewaterhouseCooper reveal.

The figures from PwC’s Global Technology Industry Group (GTIG) also show that funds raised by the Irish Venture Capital (VC) sector have plummeted by 77% or €155m in the last two years.

This fall in investment in Ireland by Venture Capitalists in 2004 was partially due to the absence of buyouts last year.