The number of sales by European venture capital firms have hit their highest level since September 2008, providing some encouragement to an industry that has struggled to generate returns. However, venture capital exits still remain far below boom era levels.

There were 81 exits by venture capital firms in the first half of this year, according to data from VentureSource. This compared with 79 in the second half of last year and less than 70 in each of the previous six-month periods. The value of the exits this year, €1.5bn ($1.9bn), was 42% higher than the same period last year but 11% down on the second half of last year.