European venture up, UK buyouts down

Europe's early-stage investments have witnessed their fourth consecutive quarter of rising volume, according to the latest unquote" Barometer, done in association with Candover. The third quarter of 2008 clocked 105 early-stage deals across Europe, the first time the Barometer has recorded triple digits for this part of the market. The figure is up 14% from the 92 done in Q2. If the current pace continues, this year could see the highest number of early-stage deals since the dotcom boom. Venture is riding this wave (see Venture feature, page 08).

The story in the buyout arena is less rosy, with a small recovery in Q2 giving way to a drop in value of a third to under EUR17bn in Q3. The figure is bolstered by the EUR2bn Xella buyout by Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and PAI ppartners in Germany.

Interestingly, the UK is losing its lead as Europe's buyout powerhouse, just as Germany steams ahead (see graph). The quarter saw UK buyout value nearly halve, just as the DACH region gained more than a third.

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