UK investment for financial technology firms increased by 35% to $901 million across 72 deals in 2015, with lower deal volume indicating a trend for larger funding rounds globally, according to statistics compiled by Innovate Finance.
The UK chalked up the highest volume of deals outside the US and third in terms of total investment behind US and China, from a $12.5 billion investment pot spread across 860 deals.
Of the Top 20 global deals, two were from the UK - Atom Bank, which secured $125 million and Funding Circle, which raised $150 million. The highest proportion of deals was in the $1M - $5M category globally.
Funding Circle, Atom Bank, Ebury, Transferwise and World Remit round up the top 5 fintech deals in the UK - all over $50 million.
Lawrence Wintermeyer, CEO of Innovate Finance says one of the big trends in 2015 was investment in fintech by financial institutions and corporate venture funds.
"A couple of years ago, entrepreneurs in the community were looking for introductions to VCs," he says. "Last year, they were interested in introductions to institutions. What this reveals is that corporate venture funding could be the new smart money for fintech.”
The release of the data coincides with the publication of a UK Government-sponsored report from Ernst & Young which ranks Britain as first amongst the world’s seven leading fintech hubs - from Silicon Valley to Hong Kong - when measured according to four key criteria: the availability of talented staff, access to investment, the nature of government and regulatory policy, and the demand for fintech services.