The total of venture capital investment across Europe contracted again during the second quarter of 2007, according to specialist researcher Library House. In the second quarter of 2007, under €1.4 billion ($1.9 billion) of venture capital was invested in Europe, down slightly from the first quarter and substantially down from the €1.7 billion invested in the second quarter of 2006. At a national level, France has been the real loser this quarter with venture capital investments halving from over €200 million to just under €100 million. This drop allowed Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands to leapfrog France in the quarterly league table of the largest venture capital markets in Europe. In contrast, the Netherlands has seen consistent strong growth in venture capital since the beginning of 2006: over €128 million of venture capital was invested in the Netherlands in quarter two 2007 compared to just €37 million in the second quarter of 2007. The UK maintained its place at the top of the European VC league, taking a 28 per cent share of investments in the second quarter, down from 33 per cent in the first quarter. Despite the fall in investment in French companies, the top European VC this quarter by syndicated deal amount was Paris-based Sofinnova Partners, which participated in deals worth €86.9 million. 3i Group, headquartered in London, was second in Europe with total deal values of €78.5 million. In terms of sectors, investment in web companies is soaring. This quarter has seen over €150 million invested in the space compared to just €51 million of disclosed investment in the first quarter and €64 million in the same quarter last year. Exciting web companies across Europe are increasingly attracting the attention of investors, who are prepared to commit serious money to the sector once again.