Hotbed, the UK-based private equity network in which high net worth investors can access the asset class for a minimum of only £25,000 ($40,768), said its deals rose 69 per cent to £30 million ($48.9 million) in the year to the end of March.

When gearing is added to the deal figure, the total value of transactions is worth £43.4 million, the firm, which has more than 900 active investor members, said in a statement.

Since launch in 2002 as a venture to widen access to private equity, Hotbed has directly placed £204 million of equity in 42 companies and 24 properties, and has invested £29 million in proprietary and third-party funds. It has also made 15 exits on such deals, logging an average internal rate of return of 22.4 per cent. (IRR is a measure of returns designed to account for the complex timing of such deals and is not directly comparable to returns on listed equities).