Michael Spencer-backed fund raises $130m for B2B fintech push August 2, 2021 Fintech-focused venture capital firm Element Ventures has announced a $130m (£93.5m) fund to invest in b2b financial enterprise technology businesses. Michael Spencer, City grandee and founder of interdealer broker Icap, was the fund’s cornerstone investor. It comes after Spencer contributed at least £25m to the fund upon launching last year, via his investment vehicle IPGL. [...]
Exclusive: Islamic fintech founder Junaid Wahedna on why the UK market is firmly on his radar July 28, 2021 The market for Islamic fintech is growing globally, and in the UK. Last month the Boubyan Bank Group announced that the world’s first Islamic international digital bank will be launched in the UK. The global Islamic fintech market is estimated to reach $128bn by 2025, a 161 per cent increase from 2020’s figure, according to [...]
Starling Bank makes first acquisition in bid to expand lending July 26, 2021 British digital lender Starling Bank has struck a £50m deal for specialist buy-to-let mortgage lender Fleet Mortgages, in the first of an expected series of deals to drive growth. Starling, which last week said it was eyeing an IPO over the next two years, has finalised the cash and share deal for Hampshire-based Fleet Mortgages, for [...]
Index Ventures invests $1bn into UK startups and will create 5000 jobs within a year July 23, 2021 Transatlantic venture capital firm Index Ventures has raised $3.1bn in new funds and directly invested $1bn in UK startups to create 5000 British jobs in the next year. Index’s latest cash injection comes just a year after Index raised its last set of $2bn funds. The UK is Index’s single largest destination for investments in Europe, and [...]
Klarna-challenger Zilch strikes $110m deal with Goldman Sachs and Daily Mail owner July 23, 2021 ‘Buy now pay later’ (BNPL) company Zilch today announced it has cut a deal to raise $110m (£80m) in debt and equity from Goldman Sachs and the investment arm of the Daily Mail group. The deal with Goldman Sach’s asset management and private credit division and DMG Ventures, part of the Daily Mail & General [...]
Starling Bank slims losses and eyes potential 2022 IPO July 22, 2021 British digital lender Starling Bank said it had chopped its losses by more than half and was on track for full-year profitability, as it eyes a potential float at the end of next year. Starling reported a loss of £23.3m in the 16 months to the end of March 2021 – less than half its [...]
Exclusive: Clim8 is a green investing platform that wants to distance itself from ESG July 22, 2021 Clim8, a London-based sustainable investing platform, is on a mission to challenge ESG funds so that investors can bypass “greenwashing” and find a portfolio of companies that are having a positive impact on climate change. The platform, which launched its app “Clim8 Invest” in March, today announced it has closed its third funding round. The [...]
Revolut enters travel booking sector with in-app service for UK holidaymakers July 21, 2021 The challenger bank is capitalising on post-lockdown savings and desire to travel with a new in-app product that allows users to book holiday accommodation in the same place that they manage their finances. Revolut users in the UK are now able to check their cashflow before booking holiday accommodation, all without logging out of the [...]
Wise reports solid revenue growth and surging customers in first trading update since IPO July 20, 2021 Wise, one of Britain’s biggest fintech firms, posted revenue in line with expectations of £123.5m in the first quarter of its financial year, up 43 per cent from a year earlier. In the first trading update since its £8bn float on London’s stock exchange earlier this month, the payments group said it processed £16.4bn in [...]
UK listings reformer and peer Lord Hill joins fintech startup W1tty July 19, 2021 Former EU Commissioner for Financial Services Lord Jonathan Hill, who called for deregulatory measures to attract more tech companies in the UK, has joined fintech startup W1tty as an adviser. The Conservative peer will join the advisory board of smart finance app W1tty, which is launching in Lithuania and Poland in Autumn. Lord Hill authored [...]