Figures from corporate finance group Ion Equity show that venture capital investment in Irish companies came to €47.7m in the second quarter of 2006, down 22% from the first quarter. This also represented a 20% drop compared with the same period last year.
For the first six months, investment was down 21% at €108.8m, though Ion claims this is slightly misleading as two deals worth nearly €15m are in the process of closing.
The number of deals in the first half fell from 27 in 2005 to 22 in the latest six months, partly due to a sharp fall in early-stage first round investments from 13 to just sox. 'This is a slightly worrying trend as the number of first round fund-raisings indicates the level of early stage technology companies getting the traction that enables to them to get that crucial first round finance,' said Ion Equity director David Fewer.
Dr Fewer said that although investment remained reasonably strong in the first half, the second half was generally the weaker of the two. 'It is unlikely that we will reach the €200m in venture capital investment we achieved last year,' he added.
