Private equity firms used to call themselves "Venture Capital" firms, hence the trade association is the British Venture Capital Association.
There are approximately 200 firms that provide private equity finance in the UK, each with its own specialisation by size of transaction financed and/or by industrial sector.
The term "Venture Capital" is now more commonly confined to development capital for earlier stage businesses.
"Private Equity" is the generic name for the industry which provides equity finance for unquoted companies.
Private equity firms invest in a company's share capital and sometimes in other quasi-equity securities. They achieve a return on their investment through an "exit" i.e. a sale of their shareholding or a listing on a stock exchange, usually within three to five years of making their investment.
