Fintech venture firm Augmentum has raised £94 million in an initial public offering ahead of a listing on the London Stock Exchange.
Set up by venture group Augmentum Capital, Augmentum Fintech is raising the money for a new fund investing in early-stage financial technology companies in the UK and wider Europe.
The new company is acquiring Augmentum's existing investments in a portfolio of five fintech firms, including Seedrs, Zopa, Interactive Investor, BullionVault and SRL Global.
In a rare meeting of the public and private markets, crowdfunding platform Seedrs was itself used to raise more than £500,000 towards the IPO. The management team and family members have provided £2 million in capital.
That management team say they will strive to give investors access to fast-growing fintech startups offering disruptive technologies in the banking, insurance and asset management sectors.
The new group sees the opportunity to capitalise on the lower valuations of early stage businesses in Europe as compared to the US amid substantial demand for post-seed venture capital funding in the European fintech market. It also expects to meet demand for investment in a sector that can be difficult to gain access to.
Neil England, chairman, Augmentum Fintech, says: "The combination of an established, successful and hands-on management team with access to an attractive seed portfolio as well as an identified and growing pipeline of investments in the fintech space, makes this a compelling investment."