The European venture capital industry has experienced one of its worst quarters for investment in a decade, according to research published today, but industry figures are hoping that a strong returns from existing investments will help reverse this trend.

Investment by Europe-based venture capital firms fell to €955m during the second quarter of 2011, a 20% drop compared with the same period last year when investment stood at €1.2bn, according to data provider Dow Jones VentureSource.