During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, any announcements regarding the startups/scaleup getting funding have been a beacon of hope. That being said, the UK tech sector has shown tremendous resilience and growth in the recent past despite various challenges, including the pandemic lockdowns and Brexit.
Notably, several UK companies like Hopin, Starling Bank, Synnk, Blockchain.com, Zego, and Arrival, witnessed a wave of mega-funding rounds of £100 million and above in March 2021. However, some other prominent funding rounds happened in the UK tech ecosystem this month that significantly impacted the ecosystem’s growth, and we find out which one are those.
Check out the list of some of the most important funding that has hit the headlines in the UK tech startup scene this month.
PPRO
Founder/s: Philipp Bock, Tobias Schreyer
Funding: £287M
HQ: London
PPRO, a London-based provider of local payment infrastructure for online commerce, announced new investments of $90 million (approx £65 million) from JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Eldridge. The latest funding is an extension of the $180 million (approx £130 million) round from Eurazeo Growth, Sprints Capital, and Wellington Management announced just weeks ago.
The fintech unicorn’s valuation is now at £773.72 million. Regulated by the FCA, PPRO helps consumers pay with the local payment method they trust and know. PPRO’s technology allows payment services providers and enterprises with payment platforms to plug in via simple APIs and eliminate the intricate complexities and massive costs of providing payment method choice to local consumers. The UK company powers payment service providers and platforms such as Citi, Elavon, Mastercard Payment Gateway Services, Mollie, PayPal, and Worldpay.
Funding utilisation: The company will use the funding to continue to strengthen and expand its local and alternative payment capabilities.
Stripe
Founder/s: John Collison, Patrick Collison
Funding: £1.7B
HQ: San Francisco
Stripe, which builds economic infrastructure for the internet, has raised a $600 million (approx £435 million) funding round at a $95B (approx £69 billion) valuation. The round was backed by Allianz X, Axa, Baillie Gifford, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Sequoia Capital, and Ireland’s National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA).
Founded in 2010 by Irish brothers Patrick and John Collison and now headquartered in California, Stripe has become the most valuable private company Silicon Valley has produced. The company’s valuation has almost tripled in less than a year, surpassing those achieved by Facebook and Uber before they went public.
Stripe is a technology company helping small and large companies accept web and mobile payments. The company helps new companies get started, grow their revenues, and establish businesses to accelerate into new markets and launch new business models.
Funding utlisation: The company will use the capital to invest in its European operations, and its Dublin headquarters in particular, and expand its Global Payments and Treasury Network.
Telegram
Founder/s: Nikolai Durov, and Pavel Durov
Funding: $1billion
HQ: Dubai
Telegram, a cloud-based mobile, and desktop messaging app and a competitor to WhatsApp, secured $150 million (approx £109 million) from Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala Investment Co and Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners, part-owned by Mubadala. On top of that, the messaging service provider raised around $1 billion in debt financing by selling bonds to grow its global presence.
Launched in 2013, Telegram is a secure messaging app utilising end-to-end encryption. While Telegram was not founded in the UK, and was born in Russia, now based out of Dubai, but has a base in London. It has become one of the 10 most downloaded apps globally, with over 500 million monthly active users. Last year, Pavel Durov, who’s also known as the ‘Mark Zuckerberg of Russia,’ said that the company is planning to monetise in the upcoming months to keep the business afloat.
Funding utilisation: The company will use the funding to open an office in Abu Dhabi and keep the business afloat for the upcoming months.
eToro
Founder/s: Yoni Assia and David Ring
Funding: £691M
HQ: London
eToro, a social trading, and investment marketplace, has announced this month that it will go public through a merger with blank check company fintech acquisition corp. V backed by banking tycoon Betsy Cohen in a $10.4 billion (approx £7.5 billion) deal. Upon closing of the transaction, the combined company will operate as eToro Group Ltd. and will be listed on NASDAQ.
The transaction includes commitments for a $650 million (approx £471 million) common share private placement from a group of institutional investors including ION Investment Group, Softbank Vision Fund 2, Third Point LLC, Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, and Wellington Management.
Founded in 2017, eToro is a social trading and investment marketplace that allows users to trade currencies, commodities, indices, and stocks. Notably, eToro is a global community of more than 20 million registered users who share their investment strategies; and anyone can follow the approaches of those who have been the most successful.
eToro was founded in Tel Aviv, Israel but has offices in Cyprus, Israel, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia.
Freetrade
Founder/s: Adam Dodds, Davide Fioranelli, Andre Mohamed, Andre M.
Funding: £60M
HQ: London
Freetrade, a UK-based challenger stockbroker that offers free share trading on mobile phones, didn’t raise £100 million but raised a huge £50 million funding in a Series B round at a post-money valuation of $366 million (approx £265 million).
This round comes in less than a year after a huge crowdfunding round. The latest funding round was led by New York-based growth equity firm, Left Lane Capital. Other investors including L Catterton and Draper Esprit also participated.
Freetrade is a brokerage application that offers free share dealing services. Right now, the platform has c.600,000 customers in the UK and has generated £1 billion in quarterly trade volume.
Fund utilisation: The fund will be used to accelerate the company’s growth in international markets and allow the team to scale our product and technology.
ERS insurance
Founder/s: NA
Funding: £271M
HQ: London
ERS, the specialist insurer from Brentwood in UK, raised a $350 million (approx £253 million) funding led by Abry Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm. Alongside Abry, the Aquiline-led investor group also participated in the capital raise.
The UK-based motor insurer offers a wide range of cover for private cars, classic cars, vans, supercars, and other vehicles. Back in 2013, the company was acquired by Aquiline, a US-based private equity firm that invests in financial services enterprises in industries including property and casualty insurance.
Fund utilisation: The company will use the capital to accelerate its growth strategy and expansion into specialty (re)insurance business lines.
The post UK Tech: The most epic funding rounds of March 2021 appeared first on UKTN (UK Tech News).
