Disclaimer: the FinTelegram “Headline News” format curates news about financial markets, investors, and investor protection. The “Headline News” articles do not contain extensive research but either provide short updates on relevant subjects, organizations, and individuals or refer to 3rd-party findings and opinions.
The Covid-19 pandemic apparently didn’t hurt the FinTech hype. On the contrary, while Wise (formerly TransferWise), CoinBase, or eToro have IPO plans with billion-dollar valuations, Sky News reports today that UK FinTech unicorn Starling Bank has received £270M from new investors. Quite impressive, isn’t it. Starling Bank will on Monday unveil the biggest fundraising in its seven-year history when it announces that it has secured more than £270m from investors, including one of the world’s biggest wealth funds.
According to Sky News, the fundraising had taken place at a pre-money valuation of £1.1bn, confirming Starling’s status as the latest British FinTech unicorn. Set up in 2014 by Anne Boden, Starling now has more than two million accounts of which 300,000 belong to SMEs.
The funding round was led by Fidelity Management & Research (FMR), one of the world’s biggest asset managers. Insiders added that the Qatar Investment Authority, Railpen – which manages the £31bn Railways Pension Scheme – and the hedge fund Millennium Management were all acquiring stakes as well.
Sources: Sky News
