A London-based start-up spearheaded by an Indian-origin entrepreneur is leading the UK capital's financial technology boom as it overtakes New York in the sector. London has taken top spot in 2019 among fintech investment deals on a global level, with a total of 114 deals, pushing New York in second place (101). San Francisco is in third place (80), with Beijing (24) and Singapore (23) competing for fourth and fifth.
The data shows that Indian-origin entrepreneur Rishi Khosla's start-up OakNorth, a scale-up business lender which uses an artificial intelligence model to provide loans for small and medium-sized companies to be able to grow their businesses, brought in USD 440 million into London, making it the third-largest fintech investment deal in Europe after Berlin and Stockholm.
In the first eight months of 2019 alone, over USD 2 billion has been invested in London-based businesses across 114 deals, surpassing the totals seen in any previous year, notes Mayor of London's promotional agency. "London is the capital of capital. And as these numbers show, London is innovating to stay ahead, with more FinTech deals than anywhere else in the world," said Laura Citron, CEO of London & Partners.
London leads overall fintech investment in Europe with USD 2.11 billion investment, followed by Berlin (USD 881 million), Stockholm (USD 734 million), Paris (USD 330 million) and Milan (USD 49 million). Based on the analysis for the number of fintech deals in 2019 of the top 10 cities. London tops the chart with most number of international investors, with 54 per cent of total venture capitalist (VC) investment involving an investor from outside the UK. London also attracts a wider international variety of investors than other European hubs, with 39 per cent of investors coming from outside Europe, compared to 32 per cent in Berlin and Paris with 24 per cent. A country-wise comparison of global fintech investment by deal value reveals the US in top place (USD 9.37 billion), the UK second place (USD 2.29 billion), followed by Germany (USD 998.8 million), China (USD 770.8 million) and Sweden (USD 736.7 million).
Charlotte Crosswell, CEO of Innovate Finance - an independent membership association that represents the UK's global fintech community, said: "The UK is the clear global leader in the FinTech sector, spearheaded by London''s success and long-standing position as a major leading financial centre. It's no surprise London and the whole of the UK fintech sector is experiencing record growth - we are home to world-class talent and our historical pedigree enables access to key global markets. With record investment under our belt, this is the time to boost the sector further and secure future growth."
