UK FinTech investment slows as venture backers remain cautious

UK venture capital investment in FinTech reached $1.84bn across 167 deals in the first six months of 2020.

This compared to $3bn invested into 263 startups in the first half of 2019, represents a 39 per cent drop year-on-year according to data from Pitchbook, as investors remain cautious.

Interestingly, over half of that $1.84bn went to just five FinTechs , as the continued rise in mega deals — rounds of over $100m — signalled the ongoing maturing of the sector. 

The big five were:

• Revolut - $580m raised at Series D and extension round
• Starling Bank - $100m raised in venture round (additional $35m expected later in the year)
• Checkout.com - $150m raised at Series B
• Onfido - $100m raised at Series D
• Thought Machine - $83m at Series B

There were another eight deals ranging between $20 to $100 million, representing a quarter of investment. At the smaller end, there were 35 deals in the $5 – $20 million bracket, totalling $376 million or 20% of overall capital investment. A further 87 deals, worth less than $5 million each, make up the rest. 

So encouragingly for investors and founders there is a deal activity at all stages, it would therefore appear things are starting to normalise.