Intra and inter-regional flows of business angel investment : mapping the winners and losers across UK regions and core urban economies

Abstract

Hitherto, the literature has largely overlooked the important role business angel finance plays in shaping different regional economies. Using a novel UK dataset, this paper calculates interregional inflows and outflows of business angel investment to identify the net winners and losers in terms of both the number of deals and the cash value of investment flows. We establish that only three regions were net beneficiaries while the other 11 UK regions and cities examined were net losers. The reduction in ‘home bias’ in angel investments may undermine the efficacy of policies aimed at stimulating localised investment and calls for greater demand stimulation policies to help alleviate the problem of ‘thin’ regional markets.