Geographies/UK/2012/Q1

UK startup funding in Q1 2012

European tech funding raised by UK startups during Q1 2012.

In Q1 2012, 108 startups in the UK closed 112 funding rounds and raised €262M in equity funding (excluding debt and grants), up 19.6% versus Q1 2011. Debt rounds added €5.3M. Marketing was the most active sector, and Accel was the most active investor. Data as of 6 Nov 2026.

Equity funding

€262M

+19.6% vs Q1 2011 · excl. debt & grants · +€5.3M debt

Funding rounds

112

+67.2% vs Q1 2011

Companies

108

Top sector

Marketing

Rank in Europe

36.8% of European funding

Debt financing

€5.3M

2.0% of total

Top-10 round share

51.5%

of disclosed capital

Funding by month

€ raised vs rounds, by month

Data table

	Funding	Rounds
Jan	€98M	50
Feb	€47M	29
Mar	€123M	33

Top sectors

by € raised

Data table

	UK — top sectors by capital, Q1 2012
Marketing	€67M
Media	€42M
Cleantech	€40M
Software	€34M
Fashion	€32M
Travel	€26M
Fintech	€18M
Healthtech	€18M

Stage mix

by € raised

Data table

	UK — stage mix, Q1 2012
Other	€83M
Series B	€66M
Series A	€45M
Early VC	€24M
Growth/Late	€22M
Seed	€13M
Series C	€8.4M
Debt	€5.3M
Grant	€97k

Exits & M&A

2 Acquisition · 2 IPO

4 exits · €671M disclosed.

Gullivers Travel Associates	Acquisition	Jan 2012	€503M
M and M Direct	Acquisition	Feb 2012	€168M

Top deals

largest disclosed rounds in Q1 2012

Company	Stage	Date	Amount
Bluewater Bio	Other	Mar 2012	€31M
Unruly	Series A	Jan 2012	€19M
Farfetch	Series B	Jan 2012	€14M
Hailo	Series A	Mar 2012	€13M
eToro	Growth/Late	Mar 2012	€11M
SilverRail	Series B	Mar 2012	€11M
myThings	Growth/Late	Mar 2012	€11M
Videoplaza	Series B	Feb 2012	€9.1M
VisualDNA	Other	Jan 2012	€9.0M
Songkick	Series B	Mar 2012	€9.0M
GlySure	Series C	Jan 2012	€8.4M
Stylistpick	Series B	Feb 2012	€8.3M
CloudMade	Other	Jan 2012	€8.3M
Stylus Media	Other	Mar 2012	€8.1M
SecretSales	Series B	Feb 2012	€7.5M

View all 112 UK deals in Q1 2012 →

Top investors

most active in Q1 2012, by deal count

← All 2012 UK funding