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 [...]
Top entrepreneurs demand ‘radical reset’ in new campaign Entrepreneurship Britain is entrenched in a narrative of decline that can only be reversed with a radical political and cultural reset, a group of top entrepreneurs has warned at the launch of a campaign to improve the investment and trading environment for Britain’s fastest-growing companies. Spearheaded by Ovo Energy founder Stephen Fitzpatrick and Founders Factory chair [...]
Buy now, sell-off later: Where did Klarna’s IPO go wrong? Fintech When Klarna finally kicked off its Wall Street listing in September chatter quickly emerged whether the move would open the floodgates to a fleet of fintech listings. With the likes of Monzo, Zilch, Revolut and Starling all speculated to be eagerly waiting in the wings, all eyes were on the Swedish unicorn as a taster [...]
Exclusive: Fintech unicorns lukewarm on Reeves’ stamp duty holiday February 18, 2026 Two of Britain’s most exciting IPO candidates have told peers that the Treasury’s recent overhaul of stamp duty on shares will not be enough to convince them to list in London, City AM can reveal. Payments giant Zilch and banking software provider Thought Machine both used a recent meeting of industry heavyweights to raise concerns [...]
Buy now, pay later providers set for £3bn hit in ‘regulatory reset’ February 11, 2026 Providers of buy now, pay later services are set to feel the crunch as the UK’s financial watchdog tightens its regulatory focus on the fast-growing industry. Merchants and lenders are set to take a combined hit of as much as £3bn following the regulation overhaul by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), according to its own [...]
Fintechs should avoid ‘trap’ of early IPO, warns top London VC investor January 26, 2026 Fintech firms considering joining the public markets should avoid the “trap” of floating too early or risk “disaster”, a top London venture capital investor has warned. Speaking at an Innovate Finance panel discussion chaired by City AM, James Codling, managing partner of VC firm Volution, said fintechs must make sure they “get to the right [...]
UK fintech Zilch eyes deals spree on march towards public debut January 7, 2026 Consumer payments giant Zilch is eyeing more deals after snapping up a Lithuanian challenger bank ahead of its long-awaited public debut. The UK fintech has acquired Fjord Bank, helping it to secure a European banking licence and accelerate overseas plans. “We needed a regulatory umbrella that would allow us to go and move really fast [...]
The London IPOs to look out for in 2026 December 26, 2025 The year 2025 will not, it is safe to say, go down in history as a blockbuster one for London IPOs. Over its first nine months, the UK capital’s bourse was even languishing below its of Omani and Mexican counterparts when it came to capital raised at market debuts. We can take some consolation from [...]
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 [...]
Zilch eyes ‘hot’ fintech IPO market amid product launch October 9, 2025 The boss of consumer payments platform Zilch has pledged to bring something “never seen before” to public markets as the fintech IPO scene heats up. Philip Belamant told City AM Klarna’s debut on the New York Stock Exchange – where the stock popped 15 per cent – was a “brilliant” indicator for fintech prospects. “I [...]