LONDON: The first six months of 2015 saw a record amount of money invested in UK technology companies from venture capitalists, according to new figures released by London & Partners.
According to the company – the official promotional firm for London, set up by mayor Boris Johnson – almost $1.5 billion was raised up to the end of June, with 80% of funding going into London-based companies.
The biggest investments have gone into financial technology (FinTech) companies such as Funding Circle, WorldRemit and Currency Cloud, with FinTech accounting for 40% of the total raised in London. Given London’s pre-eminence in the global financial markets, it’s perhaps no surprise the city has seen a flurry of technology launches serving this sector.
According to Samir Desai, CEO and co-founder of Funding Circle, “London continues to be a fantastic place to grow a financial technology company. The money we raised in April will allow us to go on to create a sustainable, category-defining business in a multibillion-dollar global market.”
Eileen Burbidge, partner at Passion Capital and the mayor of London’s tech ambassador for the city, added: “Last year it took London tech firms nine months to reach the billion-dollar mark; this year they’ve done it in six months. The city has become such a tech powerhouse because it excels over other tech hubs around the world. London combines the technology and digital innovation of Silicon Valley with the Wall Street financing heritage of New York and the policymaking of Washington DC.”
However, this good news for London must raise doubts over the ability of the rest of the country to attract venture-capital funding, seen as vital for building technology businesses at scale. With London attracting 80% of funding despite having only around 12% of the population, it seems that other cities and regions are missing out – something which, over the longer term, will serve to further concentrate businesses in an already-overheating capital.
