UK fintech investment up by 35% in 2015

Britain has recently seen large amounts of money invested in fintech, with a new report suggesting that investment in the sector increased by more than a third last year

UK fintech investment up by 35% in 2015

The UK fintech market has been riding high, with the size of the market exploding in recent years. Now a new report from Innovate Finance, the international fintech membership organisation, has shown that the UK is proving increasingly attractive for investors.

Looking at investments by its member firms, Innovate Finance calculated that approximately $901m was spent on a total of 72 deals over the course of the year, representing an increase of 35% over the previous year. In terms of volume, the UK sees the highest number of deals outside the US and is third in terms of the total value of investment, behind the US and China. 

And whilst the number of VC investments into the UK from around the world has kept pace with 2014 levels, the individual deals have become significantly larger. Innovate Finance revealed that two of the top 20 global VC deals in fintech in 2015 involved UK companies Funding Circle and Atom Bank, which netted $150m and $125m. Worldpay was by far the largest investment of 2015, achieving a £6bn IPO.

Lawrence Wintermeyer, CEO of Innovate Finance, said: “One of the big trends in 2015 was investment in fintech by financial institutions in incubators, accelerators, labs, talent, partnerships, digital M&A and corporate venture funds. A couple of years ago, entrepreneurs in the community were looking for introductions to VCs. Last year, they were interested in introductions to institutions. What this reveals is that corporate venture funding could be the new smart money for fintech.”

Given Britain’s rep for both finance and technology, it’s hardly surprising that its fintech startups are turning a few heads. But the sheer level of investment the sector is drawing shows just how powerful it has become. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Abdul Montaqim
Abdul Montaqim
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