Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia: The UK fintech sector saw a total of $3.9bn of investment activity in H1 2019, accounting for 6 of the top 10 deals in Europe and a staggering 68% of Europe's total venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) investment.
According to the Pulse of Fintech H1 2019, published by KPMG, the top 6 deals in Europe including: Greensill Capital ($800m), World First ($717m), OakNorth ($440m), Checkout.com ($230m), Iwoca ($196m), and WorldRemit ($175m).
UK M&A activity was down, meaning 2019 has not reached the unpreceded levels of investment activity of H1 2018, when the $12.8bn WorldPay acquisition helped the UK generate $18.0bn of investment activity.
However, behind the headline number is a much more promising picture of increased funding into the sector, said the report.
Anton Ruddenklau, UK Head of Fintech at KPMG said: "We are set for 2019 to be another record year for the UK Fintech sector. We have already seen $3.06bn of new funding from VC and PE that compares to only $3.42bn for the whole of 2018."
He added: "Whilst the first half of 2018 saw some blockbuster M&A deals in the UK, M&A is set for a boost in the remainder of 2019 when the next acquisition of WorldPay closes. This could even see the UK overtake China in overall fintech investment activity.
"But, the UK cannot rest on its laurels, there was a reduction in Angel and Seed VC investment which the sector needs to focus on supporting in order to foster...................... To view our full article Click here
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