SMALL business start-ups are facing increasing problems in finding funding after another large investment player, Apax, decided to scrap investments of under £10 million.

Leading venture capital investors such as Apax and 3i made their names backing small firm start-ups in the Eighties and Nineties - a time when small businesses traditionally looked to banks and business angels. Venture capitalists that had enough foresight to see the investment opportunities that ambitious small firms with high growth prospects had to offer were highly rewarded.

Now, venture capital firms are increasingly chasing larger deals, leaving smaller ones struggling to find funding.

Many household names started small, including Google and AOL. Venture capitalists have recouped in profits more than ten times their initial investment in these companies. But venture capitalists feel that smaller deals are now of less interest as they are often more labour-intensive and can take as long as big ones, yet often yield lower returns.

Jason Purcell, founder and chief executive of FirstCapital, which introduces venture capital firms to start-up companies, said that while investors may still show interest in small businesses that have already proved themselves, those that are "pre-revenue" will struggle to raise funds.

"During the Nineties, there was a very high number of investors interested in small and medium enterprises, but in the last three or four years they have whittled down to a core group who prefer to invest in established businesses with a proven market. There is an equity gap on those small pre-revenue start-up businesses looking for sub-£2 million investments, which the Government has been focusing on."

As venture capitalists' attempts to change the perception that they back only established firms has begun to falter, their change in attitude has sparked greater opportunities for alternate sources of capital, from business angels to firms with smaller funds to offer and, most notably, venture capital trusts (VCTs).

VCTs celebrate their tenth anniversary this year, but in the past they failed to create the strong flow of new capital for fledgeling high-growth companies for which they were intended. It was not until Gordon Brown's cash boost last April, which improved the tax perks for investors, that VCTs gained some impetus.

Simon Rogerson, chief executive of Octopus Fund Management, launched a VCT called Eclipse last May. He believes that venture capitalists have been favouring larger investments at the expense of small businesses for the past decade.

He said: "We target the gap in the market for investments from £1 million to £4 million, where very few venture capital firms want to operate. There is a real opportunity at this end of the market with both economical and political benefits as well as very good returns.

"We've been doing well. We raised £31 million last year and as a result we launched Eclipse 2 last month."

Claire Madden, director of Hotbed, a specialist supplier of private equity to companies looking to raise up to £5 million of equity, agrees that the market has shifted towards larger deals.

"Everyone has moved away from the centre of the marketplace and more towards the larger end of the scale. Yet, there is huge demand from companies looking to raise a lower level of funding.

"This has left a great opportunity and our investors know a good deal when they spot one," she said.

However, Jo Taylor, a director on 3i's venture capital team, thinks differently. Although 3i has been seen as doing bigger deals than it used to, the venture capital firm insists that they have no intention of following Apax's lead and believes that the trend is actually moving in the opposite direction.

Mr Taylor said: "We have no plans to do stop smaller investments. Because of our size, we are able to be flexible and approach various types of businesses to find the best opportunities that give better returns.

"It's the higher profile, better known funds with good track records that are more likely than small venture funds to invest."

© The Times