Capital cities attract most private equity investments

New figures focusing on national regions that received the biggest share of private equity and venture capital in 2012 show Greater London and the Ile-de-France (the French capital region) to be by far the most popular investment destinations. The London area leads the pack, attracting 134 investments in 2012, while the Paris region followed close behind with 120 deals.

In Germany, Berlin is far behind its rivals, with the Berlin & East Germany region seeing just 69 deals last year. German investment activity was generally far more spread out than in the UK or France, reflecting the multiple business hubs seen in the country's various regions.

The story is similar in Sweden, where the central Svealand region, which surrounds Stockholm, saw the bulk of investment activity with 51 investments.

As capital cities tend to attract larger populations, the trend towards investing in these cities is perhaps unsurprising. Larger national and international companies will also tend to base their headquarters in their home nation's capital, adding to this trend.

However, many other regions in Europe have been shown to be very active. Scotland, for example, saw 46 private equity deals in 2012, similar to the far more populous region of South East England, which surrounds London and recorded 48 transactions.

In Germany, Bavaria in particular was very active: it clocked up 31 deals, though several other regions saw high double-digit levels of dealflow as well. Sweden's Gotaland area was also a major investment location, seeing 25 deals in the past year.

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