Post Brexit investor confidence in small businesses “resoundingly high”

In the wake of the EU referendum result, younger investors and those based in London are the most optimistic about backing business

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The majority of investors in the UK are “resoundingly confident” about investing in the country’s small and medium sized enterprises in the wake of Brexit, according to research from IW Capital and Crowdfinders.

The survey of 1,000 UK investors found that 52% would support small businesses through private investment channel – equating to around 12.9 million across the country.

Younger investors were the most positive with 70% of 18 to 34 year-old investors saying they would consider investing in small businesses post-Brexit and a similar number percentage (68%) of London-based investors agreeing.

The study also found that 49% of investors have doubts about the security of the pound in light of the UK leaving the EU.

The run up to the referendum saw a 40% drop in investment into the UK technology sector. Despite this, the UK still attracted the largest share of funding across Europe and investor activity has already started to pick up in the third quarter.

Luke Davis, CEO of IW Capital and co-founder of Crowdfinders, commented: “In times of economic uncertainty, ensuring support for the nation’s private sector – particularly the small businesses who make up 99.9% of all private businesses – is of paramount importance.

“It is now our job as investment providers, and partly the responsibility of the government, to ensure investors are equipped with the right tools and information to help them act on their investment decisions and navigate this uncertain period with confidence.”

Written by:
Henry Williams headshot
Henry has been writing for Startups.co.uk since 2015, covering everything from business finance and web builders to tax and red tape. He’s also acted as project lead on many of our industry-renowned annual indexes, including Startups 100 and Business Ideas, and created a number of the site’s popular how to guides.
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