European tech funding dropped 17% to €3.4 billion in Q3 2016; decreased activity in UK and Germany to blame

From Tech.eu:

Tech investment activity notably declined in the UK and Germany during Q3 2016, leading overall investment volume to decrease by 17 percent to €3.4 billion across the region of Europe, Turkey and Israel compared to the same period last year.

Meanwhile, France had a standout quarter, with tech sector investments increasing 30% to €756 million, and Israel brought in €649 million, more than double what was raised in a slow Q3 2015. These quarterly findings are from data collected by Tech.eu and analyzed in collaboration with Dealroom.co.

After reaching a peak at the beginning of this year, investment activity has declined across much of Europe over the past two quarters. The declines in Q3 were most visible in the UK, which continues feel reaction to June’s Brexit vote, as well as in Germany, which has seen reduced activity from what was its most active investor, Rocket Internet.

However, deal volume remained high, with no notable decline even in those markets, signaling that investors are still looking for opportunities in the region – but at lower price tags.

Overall, the number of total deals recorded across the region jumped 21% to 752 from 618 during the same period last year. That number is only slightly below the number of deals tracked during the previous two quarters of 2016.

France stood out this quarter, leading the region with 126 deals, including two large late stage rounds. It trailed only the UK in terms of investment volume, with French companies raising a total of €756 million. That’s 30 percent higher than the €582 million French startups raised in the same quarter last year.

UK startups raised €797 million during the quarter, leading the region despite being down 36 percent over the €1.2 billion raised in the same period last year. It was the second quarter of lackluster deal activity in the UK, following the country’s vote to leave the European Union in June. Still, 120 funding deals took place, down only slightly from the 130 deals in the year ago quarter.

The two largest rounds of the quarter were held by French cloud hosting company OVH and British food delivery company Deliveroo, which each brought in €250 million.

Meanwhile, investment in German startups dropped by 25 percent, with only 89 deals totaling €427 million, likely impacted by the recent financial troubles of the country’s most prolific investor: Rocket Internet. That compares to 98 deals that added up to €567 million in Q3 2015.

Israeli startups had a strong quarter, bringing in €649 million via 67 deals, which was more than double what they raised in the same quarter a year ago. This was due to a weak third quarter in 2015, when only €376 million was raised.

For more information on each of the deals we have tracked since we started in 2014, and to delve further into these numbers, please visit the data section on tech.eu. With a premium Dealroom membership, you can use advanced filters and export data to spreadsheets.

Featured image credit: Comugnero Silvana / Adobe Stock