The 11 biggest fintech investments in London so far this year

http://uk.businessinsider.com/11-biggest-fintech-investments-in-london-2015-2015-9


Financial technology, known as fintech, is a boom area for businesses and investors right now, and Britain is leading the way in Europe.

London's pedigree in finance has combined with the booming technology scene of the last few years to turn the UK capital into a petri dish for financial innovation.

Eileen Burbidge, the government's fintech envoy, told Business Insider: "The UK is emerging as the fintech centre of the world and London is the jewel in the crown of the UK’s fintech success story."

Total investment in London-based fintech companies so far this year has already hit £357 million ($554 million), according to London & Partners, the organisation set up by the Mayor's office to encourage investment into the city.

That's already higher than 2014's total of £314 million ($487 million), according to figures London & Partners obtained from CB Insight.

London & Partners and BI have compiled a list of the 11 funding deals in the sector above £10 million — check them out below.

11. Seedrs — the crowdfunding platform raised £10 million in July

Seedrs

Seedrs co-founder and CEO Jeff Lynn.

Investment: £10 million ($15.6 million), July.
Who invested: Woodford Patient Capital Trust, Augmentum Capital.
Company value: £30 million ($46.4 million).
What it does: A crowdfunding platform that lets people invest in startups. Tennis star Andy Murray is an advisor and has been investing through the platform.

 

10. Currency Cloud — the cloud-based money transfer company raised £11.3 million in June.

Currency Cloud

Currency Cloud CEO Mike Laven.

Investment: £11.3 million ($18 million), June.
Who invested: Sapphire Ventures, Rakuten FinTech Fund.
Company value: N/A.
What it does: Cloud-based international money transfer software. It's used by many of the companies on this list, including TransferWise, Azimo, and WorldRemit.

 

9. Borro — the online pawnbroker raised £12.2 million in February.

Borro lets people put expensive, one-off items up as collateral​ for loans.

Investment: £12.2 million ($19 million), February.
Who invested: OurCrowd, Rocket Internet.
Company value: N/A.
What it does: An online upmarket pawnbroker that lets people use expensive, one-off items as collateral for loans. The company is on track to lend $100 million (£64.4 million) this year, TechCrunch reports.

 

8. iwoca — the online small business lender raised £12.9 million in July.

iwoca

iwoca's co-founders Christoph Rieche, left, and James Dear.

Investment: £12.9 million ($20 million), July.
Who invested: Commerzbank, Acton Capital Partners, Redline Capital.
Company value: Hundreds of millions.
What it does: Balance sheet lending to small businesses. iwoca's online platform plugs into hundreds of data points to give business' quick decisions on whether they can lend to them. Loan volumes grew 250% in the year to June.

 

7. Credit Benchmark — the credit rating platform raised​ £12.9 million in July.

The startup takes anonymised credit rating data from banks and pools it.

Investment: £12.9 million ($20 million), July.
Who invested: Balderton Capital.
Company value: N/A.
What it does: Pulls anonymised credit rating data from banks and other financial institutions to help with risk assessment. Top rated European venture capital fund Index Ventures is also an investor, alongside Balderton.

6. Azimo — the mobile money transfer company raised £12.9 million in June.

Azimo

Azimo staff.

Investment: £12.9 million ($20 million), June.
Who invested: Frog Capital, Anthemis, Greycroft Partners.
Company value: £64.4 million ($100 million).
What it does: International mobile money transfer. Facebook once offered one of the company's co-founders $10 million to become director of business development, according to the FT.

 

5. RateSetter — the peer-to-peer loans platform raised £20 million in March.

RateSetter

Rhydian Lewis, RateSetter CEO.

Investment: £20 million ($31 million), March.
Who invested: Woodford Investment Management, Artemis.
Company value: £150 million ($232 million).
What it does: Peer-to-peer business and consumer loans. Since launch in 2010 the company has funded £790 million ($1.22 billion) worth of loans.

 

4. LendInvest — the peer-to-peer mortgage platform bagged £22 million in June.

LendInvest

LendInvest co-founders Christian Faes and Ian Thomas.

Investment: £22 million ($34.2 million), June.
Who invested: Beijing Kunlun.
Company value: N/A.
What it does: Peer-to-peer marketplace for short-term mortgages. The startup has financed £390 million ($604 million) worth of mortgages in just 2 years.

 

3. TransferWise — the international money transfer company raised £37.4 million in January.

TransferWise

TransferWise founders Taavet Hinrikus, left, and Kristo Kaarmann.

Investment: £37.4 million ($58 million), January.
Who invested: Andreessen Horowitz, Valar Ventures, Index Ventures, Seedcamp.
Company value: £640 million ($1 billion).
What it does: An international money transfer platform that uses elements of peer-to-peer to match you with users sending money in the opposite direction. The platform is transferring £500 million ($775 million) a month and has transferred £3 billion ($4.6 billion) to date.

 

2. WorldRemit — the international mobile money transfer startup raised £64.8 million in February.

WorldRemit

WorldRemit founder and CEO Ismail Ahmed.

Investment: £64.8 million ($100 million), February.
Who invested: Technology Crossover Ventures.
Company value: £320 million ($500 million).
What it does: Lets people send money internationally to mobile wallets, specialising in serving emerging markets. The startup recently named 23-year Silicon Valley veteran and former Skype executive Gabriella Poczo as its chief technology officer.

 

1. Funding Circle — the peer-to-peer lender raised £97 million in April.

Funding Circle

Funding Circle CEO Samir Desai.