October investment has slowed down following a busy September

The volume and value of angel investment deals targeting companies based in Western Europe rebounded in September following the traditionally quieter holiday month of August, according to Zephyr, the M&A database published by Bureau van Dijk. In all, 43 deals totaling EUR 156 million were announced over the four weeks, compared to 21 deals worth an aggregate EUR 126 million in August.
However, the volume and value of angel investment deals announced in October to date has failed to sustain gains made in September as 17 deals totaling EUR 112 million have been announced so far, through there is still time for this figure to increase before the end of the month. Overall value in October to date would be significantly lower if not for one EUR 55 million funding round by Tier Mobility of Germany. This was the only investment valued at more than EUR 50 million in October to date and it accounts for almost half of the EUR 112 million-worth of deals announced so far this month. It is also only one of two deals targeting a company based in Germany.
As usual, the UK attracted the majority of angel investment in October to date, with seven deals, compared to two deals apiece for France, Germany and Italy. Interestingly, targets based in Spain, Belgium, Ireland and Denmark each featured in one deal. Acqustic Platform of Spain stands out in particular as it claims to be one of the largest online communities of emerging musicians in Spain. More than 3,000 musicians in Barcelona, ​​Madrid, Valencia, Malaga, Seville and Bilbao are registered on the website and, through the online platform, can be hired for concerts at home, corporate events and festivals, among other things. Acqustic raised EUR 650,000 in a funding round led by Toushka SAPI de CV, Lanai Partners, Business Booster, IESE Business School, ESADE Business Angels Network and EAE Invierte. It is the 13^th largest angel investment targeting a Spanish company in 2019 to date, the biggest of which features Citibox SMART Services raising EUR 11 million in June.
Within a global context, Spanish targets did not feature in the top 25 deals announced globally in October to date, though Western Europe’s largest angel investment of the month so far was third, after Relativity Space and SparkCognition; these two US-based companies have raised EUR 128 million and EUR 91 million, respectively. In all, 73 angel investment deals totaling EUR 522 million have been announced globally in October to date, compared to 142 deals worth an aggregate EUR 871 million for the whole of September (August: 129 deals; EUR 768 million).
In conclusion, angel investment targeting companies based in Western Europe ramped up following the traditionally quieter holiday month of August, but October needs some high-value financing rounds announced within the next ten days in order to sustain the growth recorded.
© Zephyr