Brexit, and that huge investment fund you’ve never heard of

It is an open secret among British venture capitalists that many of their funds would have never gotten off the ground without a hefty check from the European Investment Fund -- the EU institution that pools billions in financing from European governments, the EU itself and a number of private banks, to fund investments. 

After the U.K.'s vote to leave the European Union, the community faces concern that this important source of funding could be in jeopardy. 

Between 2011 and 2015, the EIF committed 2.3 billion euros ($2.5 billion) to some 144 U.K.-based venture firms. That amounts to about 37 percent of all venture funding raised in the U.K. during those years, according to data from Invest Europe, the trade association for European VC firms. 

By the end of 2015, the EIF had 9.9 billion euros committed to venture capital and private equity in Europe. As of the end of 2014, the fund directly contributed about 12 percent of all venture money raised in Europe and funds that had the EIF as a key limited partner were responsible for about 45 percent of all European venture money raised, according to a report the fund published in June. 

Joe Steer, research director of the British Venture Capital Association, said in a guide to Brexit published this week that, "any loss of this funding could prove damaging to the industry." 

The EIF issued a statement the day after the referendum noting the result "with regret". It said the fund's future activity in the U.K. would be decided as "part of the broader discussions to determine the future relationship of the U.K. with Europe and European bodies." 

Source(ET)