UK startup funding in 2012
European tech funding raised by UK startups during 2012.
In 2012, 376 startups in the UK closed 409 funding rounds and raised €1.2B in equity funding (excluding debt and grants). Debt rounds added €5.3M. Software was the most active sector, and Index Ventures was the most active investor. Data as of 6 Nov 2026.
Equity funding
€1.2B
excl. debt & grants · +€5.3M debt
Funding rounds
409
Companies
376
Top sector
Software
UK: last three years
change vs the year before| Year | Equity | Change | Rounds | Change | Debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | €633M | +31.8% | 189 | +19.6% | — |
| 2011 | €901M | +42.4% | 282 | +49.2% | €11M |
| 2012 | €1.2B | +32.2% | 409 | +45.0% | €5.3M |
Rank in Europe
#1
30.7% of European funding
Debt financing
€5.3M
0.4% of total
Top-10 round share
27.3%
of disclosed capital
Funding by month
€ raised vs rounds, by monthUK — funding by month, 2012 — interactive chart.
Data table
| Funding | Rounds | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | €98M | 50 |
| Feb | €47M | 29 |
| Mar | €123M | 33 |
| Apr | €105M | 29 |
| May | €161M | 33 |
| Jun | €40M | 22 |
| Jul | €73M | 30 |
| Aug | €69M | 34 |
| Sep | €183M | 43 |
| Oct | €127M | 32 |
| Nov | €64M | 32 |
| Dec | €108M | 42 |
Top sectors
by € raisedUK — top sectors by capital, 2012 — interactive chart.
Data table
| UK — top sectors by capital, 2012 | |
|---|---|
| Software | €182M |
| Marketing | €162M |
| Healthtech | €145M |
| Fashion | €116M |
| Fintech | €114M |
| E-commerce | €109M |
| Travel | €108M |
| Foodtech | €81M |
Stage mix
by € raisedUK — stage mix, 2012 — interactive chart.
Data table
| UK — stage mix, 2012 | |
|---|---|
| Growth/Late | €254M |
| Series C | €221M |
| Other | €212M |
| Series A | €180M |
| Early VC | €131M |
| Series B | €126M |
| Seed | €56M |
| Series D+ | €12M |
| Debt | €5.3M |
| Grant | €433k |
Exits & M&A
13 Acquisition · 4 IPO · 1 Buyout18 exits · €3.7B disclosed.
| Just Eat | IPO | Dec 2012 | €1.8B |
| Zoopla | IPO | Nov 2012 | €1.1B |
| Gullivers Travel Associates | Acquisition | Jan 2012 | €503M |
| M and M Direct | Acquisition | Feb 2012 | €168M |
| MPayMe | Acquisition | Jun 2012 | €68M |
| Addlive | Acquisition | Apr 2012 | €27M |
Largest equity rounds
by disclosed amount, 2012| Company | Stage | Date | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mimecast | Series C | Sep 2012 | €49M |
| Just Eat | Series C | Apr 2012 | €42M |
| Oxford Nanopore Technologies | Growth/Late | May 2012 | €39M |
| Bluewater Bio | Other | Mar 2012 | €31M |
| HouseTrip | Series C | Oct 2012 | €31M |
| StuRents.com | Series A | May 2012 | €30M |
| SkyDox | Other | Sep 2012 | €28M |
| F2G | Growth/Late | Sep 2012 | €27M |
| Workshare | Growth/Late | Sep 2012 | €25M |
| MATCHESFASHION.COM | Series A | Nov 2012 | €25M |
Largest debt rounds
debt financing, 2012; not in the equity total| Company | Stage | Date | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridge Broadband Networks | Debt | Feb 2012 | €5.3M |
Top investors
most active in 2012, by deal count- Index Ventures13 deals
- Wayra13 deals
- The North West Fund11 deals
- Accel11 deals
- Crowdcube10 deals
- Business Growth Fund8 deals
- Balderton Capital8 deals
- Scottish Equity Partners8 deals
- Octopus Ventures6 deals
- Northstar Ventures5 deals
Source: Tech.eu Funding Explorer · data as of 6 Nov 2026 · licence CC BY 4.0 · Methodology