How often do UK startups raise a down round?
A down round is a funding round priced below the one before it. Bradshaw measures this by price per share. A follow-on round is a priced equity round for a company that has raised a priced round before, and each one is compared with that company's previous round. A price within 3.0% of the previous price counts as about the same, because it is usually a further tranche of the same raise.
The headline
Download the headline figures (CSV)
The largest group is rounds at about the same price, 54% of the total. These are further tranches at one price, not a new pricing of the company. Rounds priced below the previous one number 150, spread over 134 companies. Taking only the rounds that moved, 29% moved down and the rest moved up. Put the other way, 87% of follow-on rounds held the previous price or raised it.
How deep the down rounds go
For the 150 down rounds, the median price was 0.59x of the previous price. A quarter were priced at 0.32x or less, and a quarter at 0.86x or more. 43% (64 rounds) were priced at less than half the previous price.
By year, round size and time since the last round
| Allotment year | Rounds compared | Priced below | About the same | Priced above |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 257 | 11% | 74% | 16% |
| 2025 | 449 | 11% | 54% | 35% |
| 2026 to date | 408 | 17% | 42% | 40% |
Download the yearly table (CSV)
The down share was 11% in 2024, 11% in 2025 and 17% so far in 2026. The about-the-same share fell from 74% to 42% over the same period, so part of the rise in the down share reflects fewer rounds being priced at the previous price. The up share grew over the same period, from 16% to 40%: more rounds are being priced afresh, in both directions.
| Cash raised in the round | Rounds compared | Priced below | Share priced below |
|---|---|---|---|
| £100k to £250k | 169 | 23 | 14% |
| £250k to £500k | 177 | 23 | 13% |
| £500k to £1.00m | 187 | 22 | 12% |
| £1.00m to £3.00m | 266 | 46 | 17% |
| £3.00m to £10.0m | 172 | 19 | 11% |
| £10.0m and over | 143 | 17 | 12% |
Download the round size table (CSV)
| Time since the previous round | Rounds compared | Priced below | Share priced below |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 6 months | 602 | 62 | 10% |
| Over 6 to 12 months | 188 | 29 | 15% |
| Over 12 to 24 months | 259 | 43 | 17% |
| Over 24 months | 65 | 16 | 25% |
Download the timing table (CSV)
The size bands show no steady rise or fall, with the share priced below running from 11% to 17%. Time matters more. Rounds in the group "up to 6 months" were priced below 10% of the time, against 25% for "over 24 months".
What a down round does and does not tell you
A down round is a pricing outcome, not a verdict on the company. A lower price can reflect a rescue, a reset after an earlier high price or a new class of shares issued at a lower price, and a round at a higher price can follow a hard year. The filing shows the price, not the reason.
The pattern in the tables is clear enough. Size makes little difference, while time does: the longer a company waits between rounds, the more likely the next one is priced below the last. Companies that raise again within six months are the least likely to reprice downward, and those that wait more than two years do so about 2.4 times as often.
Based on Companies House share allotment filings read by Bradshaw.
How Bradshaw reads a funding round from a share allotment filing
Questions and answers
What is a down round?
A down round is a funding round priced lower than the company's previous round. Bradshaw measures it by price per share against the company's previous priced round, using filings at Companies House.
How common are down rounds among UK startups?
Since 1 Jan 2024, 13% of follow-on priced rounds were priced lower than the company's previous round: 150 of 1,114. 54% were priced at about the same price and 32% were priced higher. Data to 28 Oct 2026.
Does a lower price per share always mean a lower valuation?
Not always. If many new shares were issued between two rounds, the price per share can fall without the valuation falling. The price per share is the measure the filing gives.
Do down rounds get more likely the longer a company waits?
Yes. The share of follow-on rounds priced lower rises with the time since the previous round: 10% when the gap was up to 6 months; 15% when the gap was over 6 to 12 months; 17% when the gap was over 12 to 24 months; 25% when the gap was over 24 months. Data to 28 Oct 2026.