Inside Celonis, the German tech unicorn that won over a fifth of the FTSE 100 Tech For a company valued at more than $13bn (£9.58bn), Celonis remains relatively unknown in Britain. Founded in Munich in 2011, the software company has become one of Europe’s most valuable private tech firms, with customers including AstraZeneca, ASOS, BMW and the UK Cabinet Office. The UK has become one of its three largest markets globally. [...]
Mia Drennan: I was selling Macks in Debenhams – now I run a unicorn Business It took Mia Drennan 400 meetings to get her loan agency off the ground. Over 15 years later, she speaks to Ali Lyon about the recent investment that took the firm to fabled unicorn status, and what lies next. It is half-past-five on a balmy Thursday evening and in a cavernous central London office, a [...]
Allica Bank joins fintech unicorn club after £100m injection Fintech Small business lender Allica Bank will join the illustrious club of British fintech unicorns after securing a fresh funding round. The challenger bank is said to have netted $155m (£111m) in a Series D fundraise, which will take the firm’s valuation to $1.2bn and over the billion pound mark to declare unicorn status. The round [...]
London hosts over half of Britain’s fastest growing tech January 16, 2026 Over half of Britain’s fastest-growing private tech firms are based in London, according to a new ranking by The Sunday Times, despite growing concern over the UK’s political and economic support of the sector. The list of Britain’s 100 fastest-growing tech firms shows that 57 of the 100 companies on the list are headquartered in [...]
Zilch boss shrugs off Klarna’s stock loss after fresh funding round November 13, 2025 The boss of one of London’s most hotly-anticipated fintech listings has shrugged off the recent stock fall of Klarna after securing a fresh funding round. Philip Belamant, the chief executive of consumer payments platform Zilch, told City AM “there’s always a bit of downward pressure” when asked whether Klarna’s recent stock tumble raised any concerns [...]
AI startups lead growth despite market jitters and IPO drought November 10, 2025 AI firms have driven a 44 per cent increase in the combined value of the world’s top 100 private tech firms, even as concerns grow that the AI boom could be overheating and Britain’s startups warn of a worsening funding climate. According to new data from PwC, the total valuation of the global top 100 [...]
Challenger banks face ‘profitability trap’ at growth crossroads September 8, 2025 The UK banking sector faces a profitability roadblock that will give the industry’s challengers an “existential” turning point. Fresh data from KPMG suggests the industry’s average return on equity will fall to eight per cent come 2027 down from 13 per cent four years prior. This is set to spark an £11bn reduction in pre-tax [...]
UK VC investment storms ahead of Europe as AI dominates July 3, 2025 UK venture capital funding stormed ahead of its European peers in the first half of 2025 as the country’s innovation economy remained resilient in the face of wider geopolitical tensions. Total investment topped $8bn (£5.9bn), edging up three per cent from the final six months of 2024. This gave the UK a 30 per share [...]
Lord Mayor: The unicorns are galloping away June 30, 2025 As capital dries up and unicorns flee, the UK must act now or accept its fate as an incubator economy, writes Alastair King.
British Business Bank set on delivering Labour’s growth ambition June 28, 2025 Arguably one of the biggest winners from Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ latest spending splurge, the British Business Bank had its lending capacity beefed up and pledged to back the UK’s innovators with its expanded range. The bank had its funding capacity increased to £25.6bn in the Spending Review from near £15.6bn as it targets eight key [...]