The newest figures from data provider Preqin showed that private equity industry growth has started to slow with the number of companies launched worldwide recorded to be at its lowest in 16 years, The Wall Street Journal blog Private Equity Beat reported.

There were 207 new private equity firms that had launched last year and were able to reach temporary close of their debut funds. Compared to 1997 when there were 199 firms launched, this marked its lowest number, the report said.

In 2013, there were 5,330 funds that were active. Moreover, the capital gathered last year by new fund managers made up for only 7% of the total capital raised, representing the lowest proportion since monitoring was started in 2004, the report said.

In its Global Private Equity Report, Preqin said that growth slowdown can be attributed in part to the inactivity of some companies. At the end of last year, there were 100 firms that had not been able to raise capital in the past decade.

Preqin said that they increasingly saw investors deploy more capital but with fewer managers. The report noted that new firms may have been prevented from introducing their funds to the market due to the challenging fundraising conditions.

The report quoted Triago Founder and Chairman Antoine Dréan as saying that private equity investors were already "back in the game." However, these investors are also treading the ground cautiously. He added, "They are going for the [firms with] pretty good stories rather than unproved stories."

Established in 2003, Preqin is a provider of data and intelligence for the alternative assets industry.  Its website said that over 20,000 professionals in more than 70 countries use the firm's products and services for various purposes such as investor relations, fundraising and marketing as well as market research. Its offices are in New York, London, Singapore and San Francisco.