Approximately £1.4 billion of UK fintech investment could be lost because of Covid-19, according to a survey of fintech founders conducted by blockchain firm Qadre and techUK.
Approximately 68% of the 59 fintech founders interviewed for the research have reported missing out on important funding because of the ongoing pandemic. The average amount lost by each fintech business to date runs to approximately £1.2m.
As the UK is home to over 1,600 fintech companies, it means an estimated £1.4bn of investment has disappeared, as funding sources dry up.
Qadre - which provides a blockchain platform for recording and reconciling transfer of ownership - says inefficient equity management processes among fintechs are exacerbating the crisis.
With almost three-quarters of firms relying on Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets for cap table management, 59% of the sample report having to delay projects and 32% have lost out on funding due to inefficient equity management.
Worryingly, 61% of founders believe that time spent on equity management has impaired their ability to deliver a product or scale their business, says Nick Williamson, CEO of Qadre.
“Equity management isn’t just inconvenient, it is damaging UK fintech," says Williamson. "It has never been more important for fintechs to streamline unnecessary tasks and focus on developing products and services that can help them ride out this storm.”