Foreign investors plough £5.5 BILLION into UK tech firms

Foreign investors plough £5.5 BILLION into UK tech firms with Deliveroo among the sites attracting record amounts of cash

  • Research shows UK firms secured a ‘staggering’ £5.5bn in investment up to July 
  • The UK has overtaken the US for the amount of investment per capita, data says
  • Funding growth was driven by US and Asian investment in unicorns such as a renewable energy company Ovo Energy and takeaway business Deliveroo 

The UK tech sector has seen a ‘staggering’ £5.5billion investment in the first seven months of 2019, with Deliveroo among the sites receiving the boost, new research shows.  

The UK tech sector growth was driven by US and Asian investment in unicorns such as a renewable energy company Ovo Energy and takeaway business Deliveroo, according to new data from Tech Nation and Dealroom.

The research for the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s digital economy council revealed that the UK has overtaken the US for the amount of investment per capita. 

Fast-growing British tech companies secured a ‘staggering’ £5.5 billion in investment in the period to July, according to new data from Tech Nation and Dealroom

American and Asian investors pumped £3.1 billion into UK firms during the period, making up 55% of all funding.

Other UK firms to secure major investment over the year so far included supply chain finance firm Greensill and fintech firm Checkout.com.

Nicky Morgan, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, said: ‘These fantastic figures show the confidence overseas investors have in UK tech with investment flows from the US and Asia at an all-time high.

‘We have a longstanding reputation for innovation and the statistics endorse our reputation as one of the best places in the world to start and grow a digital business.’

Funding growth was driven by US and Asian investment in unicorns such as a renewable energy company Ovo Energy and takeaway business Deliveroo

The figures came as the digital economy council and Tech Nation launched the first Bright Tech Future Awards to recognise talent and achievement in the sector.

Eileen Burbidge, chair of Tech Nation, said: ‘Investment in the UK tech sector has been steadily rising for years and as these latest figures demonstrate, the momentum is increasing.

‘It is incredibly gratifying to see that in addition to domestic and European investors, British tech innovators are also attracting US and Asian investor attention and allocation.’

Will Shu, founder and chief executive officer of Deliveroo, added: ‘The UK is a fantastic place to start and grow a tech company, attract talent and, ultimately, turn great ideas into products and services that consumers know and love.

‘These figures underline the real potential that the UK tech sector has.’

Top overseas investments in UK tech firms in the first half of 2019 

Supply chain focus Greensill saw £657million ($800million) growth equity from Japanese investors SoftBank.

Food delivery platform Deliveroo saw investment from Amazon, Greenoaks Capital Management, Fidelity, and T. Rowe Price worth £472million ($575million). 

Babylon Health, who carry out remote health consultations, saw £452million ($550million) investment from Kinnevik, Vostok New Ventures, PIF – Public Investment Fund, MunichRE/ERGO CVF.

OakNorth Bank saw £330million ($400million) from SoftBank and The Clermont Group.

Energy and tech supplier Ovo Energy saw (£180million) $220million growth equity from Mitsubishi Corporation.

Online payment solutions Checkout.com received £190million ($230million) from investors including Insight VP, DST Global, GIC, Endeavor Catalyst and Blossom Capital.

Online money transfer World Remit had £143million ($175million) from Accel Partners, Technology Crossover Ventures, and LeapFrog Investments.

Digital-only bank platform Monzo received £118million ($144million) from Accel Partners, Passion Capital, General Catalyst Partners, Thrive Capital, Y Combinator, Orange Digital Ventures, Srtipe, and Goodwater Capital.

Wejo, who deal with access to connected car data, had a £83million ($102million) investment from General Motors.

Source: Technation 

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