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Fintech "strategically important to UK" as figure show record investment in 2021
The figures published by KPMG reveal that UK fintech investment jumped to $37.3bn last year—up sevenfold from the year previous, powered by several mega-deals including major raises by Checkout.com and Revolut.
Fintech has been heralded as being “strategically important” to the UK, as figures show British fintechs lured in more funding than the rest of Europe, Middle East and Africa combined last year.
The figures unveiled by accountancy firm KPMG reveal that UK fintech investment jumped to $37.3bn last year—up sevenfold from the year previous.
KPMG said there were 601 deals last year in the UK, running across M&A, private equity and VC, the most in any country outside of the US.
This was up 27 per cent from the 470 deals the year previous.
Last year, five of the ten biggest fintech deals across Europe, Middle East and Africa were carried out in the UK.
Across the world, total global fintech funding hit $210bn across a record 5,684 deals last year.
Broken down between sectors, payments attracted the most funding, accounting for $51.7bn investment, up from $29.1.bn the year previous.
Investment in payments was fuelled by a “surge” in interest in areas like buy now, pay later, embedded banking and open banking solutions.
The UK investment figures were buoyed by a number of big-ticket deals, including the London Stock Exchange’s $14.8bn takeover of Bloomberg rival Refinitiv and JP Morgan’s $989m purchase of UK wealth manager Nutmeg.
In terms of funding rounds, Revolut raised $800bn while payment processing firm Checkout.com became Europe’s highest valued fintech following a $450m fundraise.
Karim Haji, UK and EMA head of financial services at KPMG, said: “2021 was an incredibly strong one for the UK fintech industry.
“The UK remains at the centre of European fintech investment with British fintechs attracting more funding than their counterparts in the rest of EMEA combined. Fintechs remain strategically important for the UK’s economic growth prospects and it's vital that the ongoing work to nurture them continues if the UK is to remain a magnet for investment.”
Further figures across Europe last year show there were record levels of investment in the Nordic region ($18.5bn), Germany ($5.4bn), Ireland ($1.6bn), Africa ($1.8bn) and Israel ($900m).
Anton Ruddenklau, global fintech leader, KPMG International, added: “We’re seeing an incredible amount of interest in all manner of fintech companies, with record funding in areas like blockchain and crypto, cybersecurity, and wealthtech. While payments remains a significant driver of fintech activity, the sector is broadening every day.”
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