As a new report highlights the scale of private capital’s contribution to British businesses, widening appropriate access for experienced private investors and family offices should be part of the conversation, writes Sam Kemp.
Last week UK Private Capital (formerly the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association) released its Report on Investment Activity 2025. The research illustrates private capital’s contribution to the UK economy. It explains the role of private market investment in supporting business growth and how the UK can improve productivity across its regions.
In 2025, fundraising by UK-based private capital firms reached £58.7bn, the third-highest amount on record. £25bn was invested into more than 1,400 UK companies, with 57% of those businesses located outside London. Over the past five years, private capital firms have invested nearly £150bn into UK businesses.
These are not marginal figures. They show an industry providing long-term funding, operational support and active ownership to companies that are often central to employment, innovation and regional growth.
That matters because the UK continues to face a fundamental challenge: how do we channel more capital into productive businesses? Public markets will always have an important role, but they no longer provide the same breadth of access to growing companies that they once did. Many businesses are staying private for longer, while others are choosing private capital because it can offer patient funding and strategic support away from the short-term pressures of listed markets.
If we want more investment in UK companies, we need to think carefully about who can provide it.
Institutional investors clearly have a major role to play. The report highlights the importance of pension funds and international capital in supporting UK-managed private equity and venture capital funds. But private investors and family offices should also be part of the conversation.
At Connection Capital, we see first-hand the appetite among experienced private investors to allocate capital to growing businesses through private equity and private credit.
Our role is to connect capital to the parts of the UK economy where it can make a meaningful difference. Many of the SMEs seeking growth capital, succession solutions or support with the next stage of development are not obvious candidates for large institutional funds. They may be too small, too specialised or require a more tailored approach.
By sourcing, diligencing and structuring investments on a deal-by-deal basis, we help professional private clients access opportunities in this important but often underserved part of the market. In doing so, we enable experienced investors to participate in areas that can offer diversification, targeted returns and exposure to the real economy, while also helping capital reach the businesses that need it.
That access matters. If private capital is to support more businesses across the UK, then the investor base also needs to be broad, engaged and resilient. Policymakers should therefore be encouraging appropriate access for sophisticated private investors through a stable, pro-investment tax and regulatory environment that rewards long-term capital commitment, while maintaining the necessary protections around private market investing.
Private markets are not suitable for everyone. They require careful selection, an understanding of risk, and the ability to commit capital over longer time horizons. But for those with the right experience and capacity, they can play a valuable role in portfolios and in the wider economy.
The UK has a world-class private capital ecosystem. The opportunity now is to build on that strength by ensuring suitable investors can contribute to it. That means recognising private investors and family offices as active participants in growth, innovation and long-term business ownership and incentivising them for the risk they take on.
Done well, widening access to private markets is not simply about investor choice. It is about connecting capital with the companies that can help shape the UK’s future.