A group of high-flying business angels in Oxford, which has raised more than £15.2m for start-up and early-stage businesses within 60 miles of Oxford, has warned that it is cutting down on the size of its investments.

Lucius Cary, director and investment adviser of Oxford Technology3 Venture Capital Trust, a publicly quoted company based at the Oxford Science Park, said: "A general observation is that it is being unusually difficult for small companies to raise capital in the current investment climate.

"Investor confidence is very low after the fall in the value of the stock market, and the fall in the value of technology stocks in particular."

He added that Oxford Technology3 was now making smaller initial investments than previously.

Oxford Technology3 is the third venture capital trust set up by the group of angels. It has raised £4.2m on the Stock Exchange for investment in new ventures -- less than they had hoped for, though the fund remains open to further investments.

The previous two funds, Oxford Technology1 in 1997, and Oxford Technology2 in 2000, raised £5m and £6m respectively.

The £6m took only three weeks to raise. The present Technology3 fund has been open eight months and still not reached its target.

Mr Cary said: "The entrepreneurial culture is far stronger than 20 years ago. Scientists are now keen to bring their ideas to the marketplace but are finding it incredibly difficult to raise funds. We are turning more people away."

However, he predicted that the current downturn was probably a "blip" and that investors would return shortly.