UK FinTech industry backed by £1bn growth fund

Published by

Tom Kilkelly

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A £1 billion growth fund, backed by Barclays, NatWest, Mastercard, London Stock Exchange Group and Peel Hunt, has been launched to help scale UK FinTechs prior to IPO.

UK FinTech Growth Partners LLP has unveiled the FinTech Growth Fund, which promises to invest in UK FinTechs, predominantly between Series B and pre-IPO, to enable them to scale into world-class global organisations.

The idea for the fund grew out of the Kalifa Review which outlined a five-point plan to help the UK retain its status as a global leader in financial services through securing the success of UK FinTech.

Phil Vidler, managing partner of UK FinTech Growth Partners, said: “The UK has always been at the forefront of innovation in FinTech but there is a very clear and well evidenced growth funding gap.''

“The FinTech Growth Fund will address the lack of available growth capital by providing a first of its kind domestic, growth-stage, FinTech focused venture capital fund backed by strategic investors.

“Our aim is to not only provide the capital needed for founders to scale their businesses, but to also engage with stakeholders across the nation to support the wider ecosystem. In doing so, we believe we can ensure the UK remains a global leader in FinTech.”

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The first deployment of capital into businesses is scheduled for Q4 2023 with the fund looking to take, on average, four to eight investments per year between £10 million to £100 million.

Sir Ron Kalifa, author of the Kalifa Review, added: “I am delighted to welcome the launch of the UK FinTech Growth Fund as a private sector initiative, backed by institutional capital, responding to one of the key recommendations of the Review.

“The fund represents another key building block in the support ecosystem for growth stage UK FinTech businesses. This is an important step forward towards ensuring the UK retains its leadership role in FinTech.”

Tom Kilkelly

Tom Kilkelly started working as a freelance journalist for The Business Magazine following his graduation from UCL in 2022. During his studies Tom became very interested in the works of Irish authors including Samuel Beckett and Flann O'Brien (Brian O'Nolan). His current role as a freelance business reporter is his first exposure to the world of business journalism. Working at TBM has given Tom the chance to really get to grips with the goings-on in the business hive that is the South East.