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UK fintech on a shopping spree

The private sector has been busy in the UK, especially in the finance market. A recent Guardian article highlighted key events in the first half of the year:

  • Britain’s investment in the financial technology industry has hit a new record, with almost £18bn worth of deals in the first half of this year, placing the UK second in the world behind the US. 
  • London’s Square Mile continued to dominate Europe’s fintech sector, attracting investors from across the world who bought more than 280 of the UK’s most advanced digital financial companies.
  • The buying spree came despite the government’s failure to secure a Brexit deal with Brussels that would give the City equivalence with financial companies operating inside the EU single market.
  • Venture capital firms, which focus on buying smaller startup businesses, were especially active with fintech-focused investments in the UK, reaching $6.2bn, more than double the level in the second half of 2020.  

Fintech has been getting a lot of interest throughout covid, in line with other technology-focused sectors such as edtech, healthtech. industry 4.0, etc. The pandemic has only served to highlight more problems for technology can fix. Fintech firms seek to improve and automate the delivery and use of financial services, which became an important step during worldwide lockdowns in the pandemic. 

It’s clear that venture capital firms were on a buy-and-build strategy, buying up smaller firms that were fragmented throughout the industry. This investment shows that larger finance firms will need to continue to scale to remain competitive. SMEs will need to digitise to keep up their revenues and competitiveness. 

Whether you are a PE firm interested in a buy-and-build approach, or an SME that wants to digitise, Polestar can help you with all your enquiries. Feel free to reach out!

Covid-19 has spurred a race to digital in UK financial services and many of the major banks have dipped into their investment pots for digitalisation – a major reason we are seeing so much corporate investment.

By Anusheh Khan on 07/09/2021