Publications
& Policy

During this third session in our AI webinar series, we explored the sustainability considerations and broader implications of AI use.

As of the end of 2024, UK-based private capital funds have £190bn of capital available to invest, which is expected to be deployed over the next three to five years. This BVCA estimate includes new data from over 2,000 venture capital, growth equity and private equity funds. Historically, around half of the funds managed in the UK, known in the industry as ‘dry powder’, are deployed here.

The most comprehensive study of private equity and venture capital activity across CEE, in partnership with law firm Gide Loyrette Nouel. It shows strong double-digit increases in fundraising, investment and divestment, putting activity value back in line with recent historical averages, as flagship transactions pointed to a recovery in market confidence, and international investor appetite increased.

Our sixth annual publication provides deep insights for investors to understand the performance of European private capital asset classes, and analyses data across a range of metrics, including mPME, which is designed to allow a transparent and comparable performance for private capital and public equity investments.

Download the factsheet to see the European private equity and venture capital industry’s real contribution to employment, in 2023, and job creation, in 2022-23 in Belgium and Sweden.

This supplementary document builds on Invest Europe’s September 2024 response to the European Commission’s Call for Evidence on the functioning of the EU’s Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive (ATAD). It provides further technical and practical insights into how divergent national implementation of ATAD I and II—particularly the interest limitation and hybrid mismatch rules—is creating legal uncertainty and unintended tax consequences for private equity and venture capital structures. Invest Europe urges more harmonized, proportionate enforcement to preserve investment flows and support Europe’s innovation-driven economy.

The Investment Volume outlines practical, evidence-based policy actions to unlock capital and strengthen Europe’s startup ecosystem. Focusing on three core levers—unlocking institutional capital, incentivising angel investment, and reforming public funding—it addresses critical barriers to risk finance across Member States.

Invest Europe’s response reiterates key messages and highlights the long-term benefits of the proposed simplification measures, if delivered in a consistent manner and taking into account how these sustainability frameworks will be used in practice.

In this 100-pages response, Invest Europe flagged various concerns regarding the state of EU capital markets, looking at improvements to be made to the AIFM Directive and its implementation in Member States. Notably, the response calls for an increase of the AIFMD threshold, a better recognition of the private equity features, a simplification of the managers' authorisation process across the EU, of pre-marketing requirements as well as depositary rules. It also gives the European Commission insights on the costs of AIFMD in various jurisdictions.

This position paper is a follow-up to Invest Europe's response to the public consultation on the review of DAC 1-6 from August 2024. It offers a critical assessment of the EU Directive DAC6, which mandates disclosure of potentially aggressive cross-border tax arrangements. While supporting its transparency goals, the letter highlights the Directive's excessive compliance burdens, inconsistent interpretations across Member States, and limited practical effectiveness. It calls for targeted reforms—such as clearer guidance, refined hallmarks, harmonized implementation, and streamlined procedures—to make DAC6 more proportionate, effective, and aligned with broader EU competitiveness and tax simplification objectives.

The American Investment Council (AIC) released a new report using data from PitchBook showing how private equity (PE) investments empower workers with competitive wages and benefits, innovative ownership programs, and professional skill development.

Private equity (PE), venture capital (VC), and infrastructure managers operate under a model setting that is distinctly apart from deposit-taking or high-frequency transactional institutions. As such, many of the more granular provisions in the RTS — including those concerning customers’ transactional behaviour, real-time remote identification, and direct engagement with natural persons — are of very limited applicability for the entire PE-, Infrastructure investment and VC industry. We encourage EBA to recognise these distinctions in application and guidance, in line with the proportionality principle.

Invest Europe’s response highlights the need to close Europe’s biotech commercialization gap by accelerating time to market for breakthrough innovations, bridging the biotech investment gap, unlocking the potential of data, AI and quantum computing, and strengthening Europe’s entrepreneurial workforce.

In this letter Invest Europe addresses the European Commission's upcoming review of VAT rules for financial and insurance services, emphasizing the critical importance of maintaining and harmonizing the VAT exemption for fund management across the EU. It argues that inconsistent interpretations among Member States create uncertainty and undermine competitiveness, especially for private equity and venture capital funds. Invest Europe urges the Commission to preserve the current exemptions to avoid increased costs and reduced investment in EU businesses, which would negatively impact economic growth and innovation.

Invest Europe’s response focuses on targeted improvements to CSRD, CSDDD and the EU Taxonomy to ensure they remain practical, proportionate and aligned with investor needs. Key recommendations include simplifying materiality assessments, ensuring realistic assurance and due diligence exercises, and improving interoperability with global and EU frameworks.