How much does the share price rise between UK funding rounds?
A step-up is the price per share of a round divided by the price per share of the same company's previous priced round. A step-up of two times means the price doubled. This post looks at the 360 rounds from 325 companies that were priced above the one before. The median is the better summary than the average, because a few very large step-ups would pull an average up. Rounds priced below the previous one are covered in the down round post.
The distribution
Download the distribution (CSV)
Step-ups are modest at the middle. 48% are under 1.5x, and the next band adds 20%. The tenth percentile is 1.10x and the ninetieth is 3.55x. Together the first three bands cover 84% of step-ups, all below 3.0x. The tail is thin: 4 rounds stepped up by 10x or more, and the largest step-up in the data is 19x.
By time since the previous round
| Time since the previous round | Step-ups | Lower quartile | Median | Upper quartile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 6 months | 82 | 1.19x | 1.41x | 2.27x |
| Over 6 to 12 months | 86 | 1.34x | 1.65x | 2.59x |
| Over 12 to 24 months | 154 | 1.27x | 1.51x | 2.23x |
| Over 24 months | 38 | 1.27x | 1.52x | 2.40x |
Download the timing table (CSV)
The median step-up is 1.41x for the group "up to 6 months", 1.65x for "over 6 to 12 months", 1.51x for "over 12 to 24 months" and 1.52x for "over 24 months". Waiting longer does not produce a steadily larger step-up in these filings.
By round size
| Cash raised in the round | Step-ups | Median step-up |
|---|---|---|
| £100k to £250k | 19 | 1.21x |
| £250k to £500k | 31 | 1.50x |
| £500k to £1.00m | 57 | 1.48x |
| £1.00m to £3.00m | 85 | 1.43x |
| £3.00m to £10.0m | 84 | 1.51x |
| £10.0m and over | 84 | 1.93x |
Download the round size table (CSV)
The median step-up is 1.93x for rounds of £10.0m or more, against 1.21x for rounds of £100k to £250k. Bigger rounds tend to come with bigger steps in price.
How to use the multiple
To place a given round, find its multiple in the distribution. A step-up near the median of 1.54x is typical, and one above the ninetieth percentile of 3.55x is unusual. Only 33% of step-ups reach two times, so a founder planning on a doubling at every round is planning on something most companies do not see.
The multiple compares prices, so it says nothing about how much money was raised, which the round size table covers. It is also a step in price per share and not in valuation: if a company issues many new shares between two rounds, a flat valuation shows as a lower price per share.
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 step-up between funding rounds?
A step-up is the price per share of a round divided by the price per share of the company's previous priced round. A step-up of two times means the price per share doubled.
What is a typical step-up for a UK startup?
Among 360 UK priced rounds since 1 Jan 2024 that were priced higher than the company's previous round, the median step-up in price per share was 1.54x. Half of the step-ups fall between 1.24x and 2.35x. 33% at least doubled the price and 5.3% at least quintupled it. Data to 28 Oct 2026.
Is a step-up the same as a valuation increase?
Not exactly. The price per share can move differently from the valuation if the number of shares changed between rounds. The figures use the price per share as filed at Companies House.
How does Bradshaw calculate a step-up?
It takes the highest priced line of each round from the share allotment filing and divides one by the other. The working and the filing page are shown for every round.