UK: GP confidence wanes

In 2011, more than 80% of surveyed GPs were optimistic about economic prospects. The sharp drop in confidence comes as the eurozone crisis is set to worsen and the UK has slid back into recession in Q1.

While 31% of participants still expect their next fund to be larger than the current one, fundraising remains a major concern for private equity professionals; 77% of the GPs surveyed by Investec rated European fundraising conditions as "poor".

That said, only one in ten GPs believe their next fund will be smaller than their current vehicle. Slightly more than half predict it will be around the same size.

"While the majority of GPs remain optimistic about the UK economy's growth prospects, the findings paint a very different picture from last year's bullishness," said Simon Hamilton of Investec Fund Finance. "However, despite battling against tough economic headwinds, the private equity industry continues to demonstrate resilience and tenacity; levels of optimism are significantly higher now than in 2009, when 11% of GPs predicted they would not raise another fund. This year the figure has more than halved to 5%."

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• Topics
• GPs
• Barometer
• Investec