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Dear Sarah,
Welcome to our inaugural edition of Inform: Venture Capital, a publication which will focus on news, comment and legal updates in the venture capital sector.
Whilst it has been a tough year so far across the economy, the story for venture capital has been mixed. Although there have been some high profile VC-backed failures, there is still money available for solid businesses with strong management teams and there have been some notable industry successes that have defied the downtown to produce impressive investor returns. Although fundraisings have in many cases fallen short of target, VC investors still have significant cash resources to invest and are keen to find the right business opportunities. Having said that, much VC activity over the last 9 months has focused on portfolio management and follow-on fundings, restricting the amount of money available for new investments. This has had a consequential effect, in particular, on the availability of funds to plug the "equity gap" in smaller businesses although, out of this, alternative sources of funding such as angel groups and venture debt are finding a renewed importance.
With the first investments now finally being made through the Government's Capital for Enterprise scheme and similar initiatives, and with the Strategic Investment Fund now gathering pace, it remains to be seen how effective this source of finance will be.
I hope you enjoy this issue.
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