Asian investors’ spending on UK tech M&A has jumped to almost £4.5bn this year
The UK's tech companies have been flavour of the month, or even year, for Asian investors, with Asian-led M&A worth $6.78bn (£4.48bn) in 2015, up from $867m in 2014.
The total invested through M&A since 2010 is $20.7bn.
The amount invested through private placements has increased by an incredible 2,450 per cent, from $7m in 2013 to $498m in 2015, according to data from GP Bullhound, a tech deals specialist.
The UK has attracted the highest level of Asian investment, and UK tech companies account for 36 per cent of all Asian deals in Europe.
Japanese investors led the way, with 27 deals in the UK this year, followed by India, which was involved in 23 deals.
Manish Madhvani, managing partner at GP Bullhound, told City PM: “London is developing a particular specialism for innovative, software-led business models that can reach large customer bases. Fintech and e-commerce are two of our greatest success stories because they find imaginative solutions to common problems. These are very attractive characteristics to the Asian market.”
Russ Shaw, founder of Tech London Advocates, comments: “These new figures are yet more evidence that London tech has become a global investment magnet, attracting capital not just from the US but around the world. From the Bay Area to the Bird’s Nest, London has become the place to find and back rising digital stars.:
He added: “Silicon Valley has been the obvious beacon for the London tech community in recent years, but what these figures show is that UK companies should be looking to the East, as well as the West Coast, in their search for investors to fuel the next stage of growth.
"In fact, there is greater potential for collaboration between the UK and Asian tech. The combination of British innovation with Asian expertise in hardware, enterprise solutions and software development is clearly a potent mix for any VC."