Upward Trends in Venture Capital and Private Equity

The venture capital and private equity market in Hungary closed the second quarter with an increase in both the amount and the number of investments compared to the same period of previous years, the Hungarian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (HVCA) told the state news agency MTI on Tuesday.

The members of the association invested a total of HUF 31.079 billion in 38 companies in 39 transactions over three months. According to previous statistics published on the HVCA's website, this year's figure is almost three times the amount achieved in the same period in 2021 and more than four times the amount in 2020. The number of transactions has also increased, with 34 taking place between the beginning of March and the end of June last year and 35 before last year, they wrote.

Real estate and the business and industrial services market were the most popular target for investors, accounting for half of the total, and also attracted the highest value investments. Life sciences topped the list of exits, with 4 out of 19 going to this area. At this time last year, there were 43 divestments by owner-investors, compared to 17 two years ago.

In terms of life cycle groupings, first-round investments lead the way, with the 18 transactions in this category accounting for 61.6% of the total amount invested. However, one late-stage transaction was the largest, with more than HUF 6.2 billion. The latter, together with seed and start-up investments, accounted for 46% of total investments in the second quarter, according to the HVCA statement.