After a week of downpours, while our colleagues in New York bask in the sun, itâs safe to say summer is over in the UK. However, we have got one thing to brag about: London has just overtaken New York in fintech investment.
During a week of political chaos (to put it politely), Innovate finance and London & Partners managed to find a way to get into the news agenda to reveal London has attracted 114 investments, breaking value of more than $2bn (ÂŁ1.6bn). New York managed to attract 101 deals, while San Francisco saw 80. Our colleagues on the West coast can still boast about living in fintech capital of the world, with $3bn raised in the Silicon Valley. But letâs take San Francisco out the picture for now and look at why London is attracting so much investment.
Over the last decade, London has managed to cement its position as one of the leading fintech centers with some of the fastest-growing companies emerging from the capital. Early-stage startup funding has been key to this, with businesses receiving more than double than the global average. Makes sense why the underground is full to the brim with fintech advertisement.
We also have the biggest pool of people working in the fintech sector, around 44,000. This is more than Silicon Valley or New York.
From an outsider looking in, some might think London is in a state of chaos. If youâre hanging around Westminster, youâre probably right. But outside of SW1, VC investors havenât been put off. We still have the most âinternationalâ investors, with 39 percent of deals involving an investor outside of the UK. Only 15 percent of investors in New York came from outside of the US, and just 11 percent San Francisco.
So whatâs next for London? Is this just a honeymoon period or are we going to be giving San Francisco a run for its money? According to the CEO of London & Partners, it looks like London is ready to take that challenge as the capital is continuing to push the boundaries of the existing ecosystem. We also echo that thought at Vested. Every day, we are having more and more conversations with clients about disruption and excited to see how that landscape grows.
By George Pitt
More from our blog:
UK CEO joins Facebook Financial Services Summit
10 fresh marketing ideas for your financial services brand
Robots: love them or loathe them?
