Venture capital firms are carrying out larger-than-usual deals, according to research out today, indicating that they have reduced their appetite to invest in riskier small-scale start-up businesses.

The average size of European venture capital deals has risen to $2.94m (€2.26) per deal in Europe in the first half of the year, according to Dow Jones VentureSource. This is a rise from $2.2m per deal in the second half of last year and $2.4m in the preceding six months.