Angel investment is vital to the UK economy as a source of risk capital to facilitate growth. Deloitte and the UK Business Angels Association (UKBAA) recently collaborated to produce the first study of the UK angel market since 2009, to which I contributed.

Here are 10 key findings:

1.   Over 50% of all UK angel invested capital in 12/13 was in internet and digital businesses

2.   54% of all 12/13 UK angel investment was in the South East

3.   Only 5% of investors in the market place are currently women

4.   Co-investing between VCs and angels is growing as value is seen in bringing angels on board for their business experience

5.   74% of deals surveyed took advantage of the EIS scheme

6.   73% of angels are co-investing alongside other angels to build their deals

7.   90% of angel capital went in to seed/start-up/early stage businesses, with the remaining 10% spread across late stage ventures/expansion/established and turnarounds

8.   Investment on equity crowdfunding platforms is growing fast, with amounts doubling year on year over the last three years

9.   77% of angels surveyed felt valuations were higher than in previous years

10.  Lack of liquidity was identified as the number one challenge for most angels interviewed in the survey

Source: Taking the Pulse of the angel market. For the full report click here (pdf – 1.29MB)