Irish Venture Capital Saw 2005 Boost
Following a period of consolidation, there was an increase in the level of
investment by the Irish venture capital industry last year, according to the
Enterprise Ireland Seed and Venture Capital Report, 2005. "Enterprise Ireland saw a further increase on the number of investments
by venture capitalists compared with the previous year. This brings to EUR50
million the total sum invested by the Enterprise Ireland Partnership Funds in
2005," stated Feargal O'Morain, Executive Director, Enterprise Ireland
and Chairman of the Enterprise Ireland Seed and Venture Capital Committee, who
launched the report. The report outlines the venture capital activity that has occurred as a result
of Enterprise Ireland's investment under the Seed and Venture Capital Programme
2000-2006 and the EU Seed and Venture Capital Measure 1994 -1999. The total monies invested since 2001 by the Enterprise Ireland Partnership
Funds totalled EUR183m in 99 companies. Furthermore, the report outlines that
since the establishment of this Scheme, 83% of total capital invested was directed
at start-up companies. Welcoming the publication of the report, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade
and Employment, Micheál Martin noted that the figures "clearly made the
case for continuing action to broaden access to finance for SMEs". "The achievement to date provides the foundations for the successful role
out of the Seed and Venture Capital Scheme (2007-2012). Enterprise Ireland will
invest EUR175m and together with private sector investments this will generate
total funding of EUR1 billion in start-up, early stage and development stage
businesses going forward," he stated. "Enterprise Ireland's strategy is to contribute to the development of
competitive and liquid financial markets that will provide greater funding opportunities
for SMEs. The information presented in this report is further evidence of the
continuing success of this strategy and of the Government's support for high
growth and export-focused Irish businesses," the minister added. Over 78% of the cumulative investments by value to December 2005 were in the
software and life sciences sectors, explained O'Morain. "The development of companies in these sectors is a key objective in Enterprise
Ireland's Strategy - Transforming Irish Industry," he concluded. A comprehensive report in our Intelligence Report series examining tax-sheltering arrangements for investors, including Forest Finance, Film Finance, Venture Capital, is available in the Lowtax Library at http://www.lowtaxlibrary.com/asp/subs_reports.asp and a description of the report can be seen at http://www.lowtaxlibrary.com/asp/description_report5.asp
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