UK Secretary of State for Business highlights low carbon industries as growth area for private equity

12 March 2009

Private equity and venture capital investment in low carbon industries will play a vital role in helping the UK economy get back on its feet, according to Lord Mandelson, the UK Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.

Speaking at the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association’s (BVCA) Annual Chairman’s Dinner, Lord Mandelson showed his support for the industry and outlined the role it can play in helping the economy regain its health.

‘Private equity/venture capital will be an important part of the renewal process in the UK,’ he told attendees. ‘New start-ups and SMEs with quality products or ideas are struggling to get the business finance they need.
‘Low carbon industries will be just one where there will be huge opportunities for venture capital and private equity for everything from manufacturing start-ups to environmental consultancy.

‘Low carbon offers specific market challenges and the Government-funded Carbon Trust helps plug some of the equity gap for emerging clean energy technology businesses that demonstrate clear commercial potential. It acts as co-investor on venture capital investments between £250,000 and £3m, often leveraging up to ten times that in private investment.

‘But we need more of your industry to work with us to generate this crucial financing. Low carbon will be an increasingly important sector in the future and we need your investment decisions to reflect that.

The Secretary of State for Business concluded by saying, ‘This industry helped drive growth in our economy in the good times. Now we need to call on that strength and capacity as part of our solution to this downturn.’

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Tags: policy, private equity, venture capital

This story was published on Thursday, March 12th, 2009 at 4:43 pm and is filed under Europe, companies, energy efficiency, policy. You can follow any responses to article entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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