ABSTRACT
Government policy towards the institutional venture capital industry - in terms of it bridging the equity gap - has been laissez-faire since the election of the Conservatives in 1979. There has been no discriminatory government policy initiative aimed at channelling the investment finance of the industry towards the equity gap. Up until the 1980s private venture capital had mainly been associated with the US economy where the industry had first come to prominence in the 1960s. The US venture capital industry, which had originally financed startup and early-stage high technology companies, had made its name by making some spectacularly successful investments. In 1996 the BVCA reported that there were just over 100 full members acting as venture capitalists in the UK. In the 1994 guide to venture capital prepared by Stoy Hayward, 164 funds are recorded. There are also a number of venture capital investment stages which require different types of finance.
