Report: Private equity is pouring billions into Florida's economy

The following is a copy of an article published in the Tampa Bay Business Journal on February 8, 2023. The full article can be found here.

TAMPA, Fla.--Private equity investments added billions of dollars to Florida’s economy in the last decade, according to a study published by the Washington Economics Group ahead of the Florida Venture Forum's venture capital conference in Miami this week.

Venture capital and private equity firms invested $210 billion in Florida companies in total between 2012 and 2021, according to the report. The estimated total economic impact of those investments exceeded $85 billion, creating 465,000 jobs and generating $26.8 billion in household income.

Investing activity has been steadily increasing in Florida since 2012, but momentum behind private equity really picked up in 2017 and for venture capital in 2021. The study points to continued growth of investing in Florida, according to Drew Weatherford, founding partner of Tampa Bay’s largest private equity firm, Weatherford Capital, which is also responsible for sponsoring the research.

“As an active participant in the private equity and venture capital industry in Florida, I am humbled by the results of this study. These are not data points to sell a product or convince an investor to stroke a check. They are real concrete examples of how our industry has positively impacted Floridian families and its economy as a whole,” Weatherford told the Tampa Bay Business Journal.

“[Having] 465,000 new, higher-paying jobs and upward of $26 billion in household income provided by our industry in the last 10 years with only signs of growth into the future makes me proud and eager to go to work every day in hopes of an even brighter future for every family in our state,” Weatherford said.

Venture capital accounted for more than 50% of the total economic impact of investing activity, the report shows. In addition to $10.9 billion in mergers and acquisitions and $5.3 billion in debt financing, VC-backed companies raised $2.3 billion in initial public offerings since 2012.

South Florida accounts for the largest share of investments of any region in the state, but Tampa Bay is putting itself on the map as an up-and-coming business hub. The region is the second largest beneficiary of private equity activity in Florida behind South Florida, where investing generated $54.8 billion in local economic benefits, according to the report.

Investing activity contributed $12.7 billion to the Tampa Bay economy between 2012 and 2021 and $9.4 billion in Orlando, another lucrative investing hub.

The report also shows investing activity in Florida was dominated by late-stage VC and

The vast majority of the total economic impact, or $56.8 billion, was generated by investments in the “knowledge-based services” sector, which includes information technologies, professional services, real estate and finance, according to the report. Jobs within those industries pay higher than the statewide average.

“This activity leaves Florida well-positioned to diversify its economy away from the more traditional tourism and agriculture industries, helping to make the state more competitive and a true leader in technology innovation within the 21st century,” according to the report.