Investments in fintech startups in the UK reached $48.5 billion in 2019, a substantial increase when compared to the $25.4 billion in 2018.
According to the Pulse of Fintech 2019 report published by KPMG, fintech investment in 2019 reached a six-year high in the UK. Interestingly, total fintech investment in the UK amounted to $58.1 billion in 2019, which means around 83 percent of the fintech deals in Europe happened in the UK.
Seven of the 10 biggest fintech investment deals in Europe also involved fintechs in the UK. Fintechs such as Greensill and OakNorth led the way by raising $800 million and $440 million respectively.
Anton Ruddenklau, global co-leader of fintech, KPMG International told the media, “Over the past year, the lines have really started to blur between financial services and non-financial services, with fintech companies helping to bridge the gap – we expect this trend to continue into 2020. Some of the biggest deals have been clear examples of investment in fintech solutions that are more focused on supporting other businesses’ digital infrastructure and this, in turn, is attracting investors towards the potential for quicker-to-profit models.”
“Just look at how the big tech giants are working with both traditional financial institutions and fintechs in order to seamlessly integrate financial services within their ecosystems, and at how the larger fintechs and financial institutions are looking at ways to broaden their offerings into adjacent areas.”
When we look at the global fintech market, investment, however, slowed down. In 2019, global fintech investment stood at $135.7 billion across 2,693 deals.
The KPMG report predicts companies such as Alphabet and Alibaba to increase their activities in the fintech space in 2020. It also predicts numerous high-level mergers and acquisitions in the fintech sector.