Almost a third of venture capital investment in the UK was done by the European Investment Fund (EIF) and since the Brexit decision was made this funding source has been turned off; while the British government has attempted to fill the void they have fallen short; “The pullback of the EIF puts the UK at a structural disadvantage compared to other European countries,” Fred Destin, a London-based venture capitalist tells Politico; the EIF accounted for $2.7 billion worth of investment into 144 companies from 2011 to 2015 in the UK; the EIF has said they are just doing more diligence on the companies from the UK but the reality is that they have completely pulled back; the British Business Bank has announced plans to offer over $450 million in investments but venture capitalists have said they are unsure if the government can afford to do this in the long term. Source
