Equity investment in the UK’s smaller businesses increased by 88% in 2021 to £18.1bn compared to the previous year, the highest yearly amount since the Beauhurst data series began in 2011, reveals the British Business Bank’s annual Small Business Equity Tracker, published today. The strong momentum continued into Q1 2022, with £7.6bn of equity investment reaching smaller businesses, the highest amount invested in a single quarter at nearly double that of the £4.3bn in Q1 2021.