The UK’s FinTech companies have seen record-breaking VC investments being made with $1.5 billion raised in the first half of the year.
According to figures from London & Partners, the Mayor’s promotional company for London, the capital is leading the way in terms of VC investment by securing more than 80 percent of the total funding and 70 per cent of all deals.
“London is rapidly becoming the most exciting city in the world for tech. Innovative entrepreneurs across the capital continue to produce exciting new companies which are attracting the eye of the world’s investment community,” said Gordon Innes, CEO London & Partners.
In the first half of the year, the city’s FinTech companies such as the Funding Circle, Azimo and Currency Cloud have raised $472m, which makes up 40 per cent of all tech investment funding raised in London.
In April, Funding Circle, the peer-to-peer lender, which allows people and institutions to bid online to lend money to small businesses, secured the largest deal of the last three month by raising $150m.
“But five years after the tech city initiative was launched, London is now producing tech companies of genuine scale which are drawing serious money into the sector. It’s no wonder that tech is now such an important part of London’s economy,” continued Gordon Innes.
London has also set new records in terms of investments in start-ups. DoPay, a FinTech company that graduated from the Barclay’s Tech Stars accelerator programme last year and which allows people who’re excluded from the traditional banking system get access to financial services, successfully raised $2.4m in two separate deals during the last three months.
The record-setting amounts of money being invested highlight just how quickly and powerfully the FinTech industry is expanding. London’s digital technology sector has grown by 46 per cent since the launch of the Tech City programme.
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