Lloyds places £2m bet on AI-powered B2B fintech Fennech

Lloyds Banking Group has invested £2m seed funding in a London-based B2B fintech which uses cloud-based tech to automate businesses’ finance processes.

The move marks the latest in several investments the high-street bank has made in startups, as it places bets on possible star companies of tomorrow.

Fennech, founded in 2017, has up to 10 employees, according to Crunchbase.

It uses AI, machine learning and cloud-based tech to automate businesses’ finance, treasury, and payments processes in real-time.

Acting as a bridge between business and the banking industry, its tech automates and manages accounts, payments, funding, and liquidity.

The fintech is headed up by Emmanuel De Rességuier, who previously spent more than 10 years at Deutsche Bank.

Lloyds has made several investments in startups.

Last year, it followed Barclays and acquired a stake in fintech loyalty platform Bink.

Earlier this year it invested £4m in all-in-one motoring app Caura.

Last year, the bank also launched a fintech sandbox where fintechs can design and test their applications in the bank’s IT environment.

De Rességuier said: “Lloyds Banking Group’s support means we can accelerate our growth plans and we are immensely excited about that.

“The funding will enable us to continue developing the best possible products and services with advanced technology and digitalisation.”

Kirsty Rutter, director of fintech Investment at Lloyds Banking Group said: “Our investment in Fennech forms part of our commitment to supporting the fintech ecosystem in the UK and expanding our client capabilities through the use of cutting-edge technology.

"Fennech’s approach to helping businesses simplify complex processes is incredibly innovative, and we’re excited about how their business and solutions will evolve to meet the needs of our corporate and institutional banking clients in the future.”