Member Article

London tech sector raises record investment

Venture capital investment into London’s technology sector has reached a record high with the city securing around 75% of the $2.2bn raised by UK firms since the beginning of this year, according to new data

Research from London & Partners, the Mayor of London’s inward investment company, shows that UK tech companies have raised more in the first nine months of 2015 than the $2.1bn raised in the whole of 2014.

Meanwhile, London-based tech companies have raised $1.6bn so far this year, eclipsing the $1.3bn for the total amount raised in 2014.

Five years on since the launch of the Tech City project, VC investment into London technology companies has soared, with over ten times more investment in 2015 than in 2010.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson MP said: “As a global financial and technology powerhouse, it is no surprise to see that the capital is the jewel in the crown when it comes to venture capital investment in the UK tech sector.

“With record investment helping companies to flourish, access to top tech talent, world class universities and great transport links, there has arguably never been a better time to start, grow and scale a digital business in London.”

In the last quarter UK firms have secured $775m VC funding while in London tech companies have attracted $491m, according to London & Partners.

The capital’s e-commerce start-ups have been particularly successful in securing funding over the last three months, as ecommerce firms such as Deliveroo ($70m), MADE.com ($60m), Secret Escapes ($60m) and Prodigy Finance ($19.5m) raised a combined amount of $246m – representing 50% of the total amount raised in London this quarter.

London’s booming fintech sector also continues to attract record levels of VC investment with a total $554 million raised this year by September, already surpassing 2014’s total of $487 million.

This quarter saw London-based peer-to-peer lending firm MarketInvoice raise $10m Series A funding from leading London VC firm Northzone, which also backed Spotify.

Eileen Burbidge, Partner at Passion Capital and the Mayor of London’s tech ambassador for the city, said: “In little more than five years we have seen investment in London’s tech sector increase tenfold. Even more importantly, we are now starting to see more later-stage investments which support the scaling of more London tech businesses.

“Today’s figures and the fact that London is home to more software developers than anywhere else in the world validate the fact that London’s tech sector is maturing and is one of the world’s leading tech hubs.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .