Click here for printer friendly page

Spanish private equity investment falls more than 20 per cent in 2002

The Spanish private equity market, which has recently been attracting attention as one of the more interesting of the European markets, suffered a setback in 2002. Investment levels fell 22 per cent, bringing them to below E1bn for the first time since 1999, according to new research by the Spanish venture capital association (ASCRI).

The research, conducted by José Martí Pellón, found that the first half of 2002 was the worst, with H2 investment levels 76.6 per cent higher than H1. ASCRI attributed the lack of activity to the aftermath of September 11 2001, when the global economy slowed dramatically.

The average investment fell from E3.3m in 2001 to E2.2m in 2002.But the number of funds' portfolio companies increased in 2002 by almost 20 per cent to 1350.

ASCRI remained positive, however, emphasising the relatively positive outlook for 2003 as well as Spain's continuing out-performance compared to the rest of Europe in terms of growth of the private equity industry. Over the past five years, Spanish investment levels have achieved a cumulative annual growth of 46.3 per cent compared to 26.3 per cent in the whole of Europe.

Felipe Oriol, president of ASCRI, said that the large numbers of family-owned businesses in Spain was particularly favourable for the continuing growth of the industry.

Copyright © 2003 AltAssets