State v. Commercial

The FT have this week reported on the disparities between state and commercial led venture capital funds. It makes interesting reading that the state led funds have failed to keep pace with the commercial competition. They go on to report that from 2002-04 the commercial funds have achieved a 7.7% return compared with their rivals.

These findings bring in to question the ways in which tax payers money is being spent and whether the goals are in fact viable. The state led funds often lack a financial motivation or are said to be restricted preventing them from reaching their potential. The DTI have unsurprisingly hit back claiming that valuable jobs are being created and that this investment is needed for the economy. This does however somewhat avoid the question of whether we are really getting value for money and should the money be redistributed to commercial Venture Capital funds.