Nearly £500m was invested in high technology companies in the UK last year, with a 500 per cent increase in internet/wireless related deals, according to Ascendant, the technology-focussed corporate finance advisers.

“While at a gross level (£484m invested in 151 deals in 2005) there has been little change with 2004 (£501m invested in 154 deals) the value of investments in semiconductor/opto and internet/wireless service deals increased by 34 per cent and 566 per cent respectively,” Stuart McKnight, managing director of Ascendant told Electronics Weekly.

Ascendant’s research showed that investment in software declined by 40 per cent in value; that the value of investments in first and second deals declined by 25 per cent, although the number of deals remained stable.

It also showed that iinvesting in games software/services doubled in 2005 and that Bristol/Bath and Cambridge were the only regions to enjoy an increase in investment.

Amongst the biggest deals were: Plastic Logic (£16m); Frontier Silicon (£15m); Transitive Technologies (£14m); Picochip £11.3m); Incline Global Technology (£10m); Plurion (£9.3m); Imagine (£8.2m).

www.ascendant.ltd.uk