John Gunn, one of Britain’s most successful private investors, wants the government to appoint a royal commission to examine why Britain fails to back enough promising start-ups. While the City debates whether banks should be allowed to assume more risk, Miles Celic, chief executive of TheCityUK, a financial services sector lobbying group, recently told the Commons Treasury select committee that officials should stop regulating “for risk and not for growth”.
“We have invested in ideas and people we like and trust,” he said. “We are not prescribed by time, sector or return. We have never had to exit because of three or five-year timescales. If we exit from an investment, it is because it happens naturally.”