Committee publication · Correspondence · 6 January 2026
Letter from the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association relating to access to capital for female entrepreneurs, 18 December 2025
From: Business and Trade Committee
Inquiry: Financing the real economy
Summary
The BVCA writes to the Business and Trade Committee following a parliamentary session, detailing progress on female representation in private equity and venture capital, and recommending government and industry actions to increase capital access for female entrepreneurs. It notes that while female investment professionals rose to 27% in 2025, female-founded businesses received only 2% of equity investment in 2024, down from 2.5% in 2023.
Key findings
- Female representation among UK investment professionals reached 27% in 2025 (up from 24% in 2023); women now hold 15% of senior investment roles (up from 12% in 2023).
- Equity investment in fully female-founded businesses dropped from 2.5% in 2023 to 2% in 2024, despite the number of female-founded businesses more than doubling over the past decade.
- BVCA signatories of the Investing in Women Code achieved 31% of venture capital deals in female-founded companies in the previous year, compared to market average of 27%.
- BVCA recommends: continuing to increase female investor representation, scaling female-focused investment funds, offering flexible funding mechanisms, supporting scaling phase funding, developing investor readiness programs, addressing unconscious bias in investment decisions, and enhancing enterprise education.
- The Rose Review estimated a potential £250bn boost to the UK economy if women started and scaled businesses at the same rate as men.
Tone
FactualTopics
Key actors
Karim Palant, Liam Byrne MP, Sonia Kumar MP, British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA), Level 20, British Business Bank (BBB), Investing in Women Taskforce, Women and Equalities Committee
Notable line
“… equity investment for fully female founded businesses dropped from 2.5% in 2023 to 2% in”
Key Quotes
“… female entrepreneurs still receive low levels of investment and face more challenges making it through the investment pipeline.”
“… signatories of the Code have consistently outperformed the wider market in funding female-led businesses. For instance, in the previous year, 31% of all venture capital deals made by Investing in Women Code signatories were in female-founded companies, compared to the market average of 27%.”
“… addressing the current gender imbalance supports inclusive growth, with a potential £250bn boost to the UK economy if women started and scaled businesses at the same rate as men.”
“Increasing the flow of capital to female-powered businesses and ethnic minority founders is a priority for our industry.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗