Three months on from the Brexit referendum result and investment in UK fintech firms shows no sign of slowing down, according to data from Innovate Finance.
'Brexit clauses' were rumoured to have delayed funding for a small number of UK firms directly following the 23 June vote. Data from the first six months of the year appear to back up this gloomy assessment: While global VC investment was up 148% year-on-year for the first six months of 2016, UK fintech investment was down by a third in the comparable period.
Nonetheless, Innovate Finance maintains that many UK startups appear largely unaffected, posting data on bumper investment rounds from some of the larger firms in its membership roster in the wake of the vote.
InnFin CEO Lawrence Wintermeyer cites anecdotal evidence that Brexit has not affected material interest in funding from US and UK VCs and may even be having a positive effect as US$ and EUR denominated funds take advantage of weaknesses in sterling.
"Since the Brexit vote, there are few visible signs that fintech investment has slowed with Innfin member deals including: Crowdcube $9.1M, Meniga $8.2m, TransferGo $3.3M, Moneybox $1.8M, Huddlestock $1.9M, CreditKudos $.9M, RiskSave $.2M, and Onfido (undisclosed)."
Over 25 start-ups in the Innovate Finance membership are currently raising capital, he adds.
However, genuine fears persist about the longer term effects of a potential single market exit and loss of financial services passporting status. Thirty percent of InnFin’s founders and CxOs are non-British and access to global Stem talent remains a strong requirement from the community.