§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the impact of the level of transaction costs in the provision of equity finance to private business. [37598]
§ Nigel GriffithsAlthough this Department has made no assessment of the impact of these costs, the Government appreciate that they have the effect of encouraging private equity investors to focus on larger investments. This makes it more difficult for smaller enterprises to raise finance and is one of the reasons we have launched Regional Venture Capital Funds to provide smaller amounts of equity capital to growth businesses.