1. S O N O V A T E Q U I C K V I E W S E R I E S
FAST ES T G ROWIN G
UK F INT ECHS
2. 2015 was a pivotal year for European Fintechs. Growing VC
funding levels by 32% to hit a record $1.5bn investment,
the EU Fintech market is a huge player at an international
level against the US and Asia.
London is already considered the Fintech capital of the
World, and strongly backed by the UK Government’s flexible
regulations, is worth £20bn to the economy. In terms of
investment, UK Fintechs have attracted a total of $437.9m
during the short period covering October 2015 and March 2016.
As investment typically translates into new hires, this QuickView
exposes the 50 fastest growing UK fintechs.
For more information get in touch on 020 7112 4949 or visit sonovate.com
3. TANDEM BANK
Sector - Digital Banking
Founded - 2013
Employees - 21 to 50
Headquarters - London
Funding - Unknown
Tandem Bank has built a full service
digital retail bank by working closely to
understand what customers want.
• Have raised £1m in crowdfunding in just
20 minutes in May 2016, reaching a total
of £22m investment.
• Includes high profile executives formerly
of Santander and Williams & Glyn on its
board.
• Tandem Bank has been valued at £65m,
and it hasn’t even launched yet.
1
tandem.co.uk
Employee Growth
2333%
Average Length of Employment (Y)
0.8
Senior Management Hires
12
New Employees
81
In this QuickView we dissect each Fintech to look at:
• Percentage Growth in Employees (over the last two years)
• Number of New Employees
• Senior Management Hires
• Average Employee Lifespan
• Total Funding
• Overview of What They Do
DATE RANGE - LAST TWO YEARS (JUNE 2015 - MAY 2016)
SOURCE: LINKEDIN
For more information get in touch on 020 7112 4949 or visit sonovate.com
4. ATOM BANK
NOVICAP
Sector - Digital Banking
Sector - Alternative Finance
Founded - 2013
Founded - 2014
Employees - 101+
Employees - 21 to 50
Headquarters - Durham
Headquarters - London
Funding - $167,160,000
Funding - $3,400,000
Atom is the UK’s first bank which doesn’t
have its own branch, but runs entirely from
an app. Atom will also be the first digital
only bank to offer biometric security.
NoviCap is a startup which technology
and business model allows professional
investors to provide working capital to
businesses directly.
• 30,000 people have already registered
with Atom.
• First app-only bank to be licensed by the
Bank of England in 2015.
• Valued at £150m in 2015, before it was
even launched.
• Closed a $1.7m seed round.
• NoviCap says it has has a 0% default rate
since it started trading in 2014.
3
2
atombank.co.uk
novicap.com
Employee Growth
869%
Average Length of Employment (Y)
0.9
Senior Management Hires
9
New Employees
163
Employee Growth
933%
Average Length of Employment (Y)
1.2
Senior Management Hires
2
New Employees
46
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5. ONFIDO BACKGROUND CHECKS
THOUGHT MACHINE
Sector - Data
Sector - Digital Banking
Founded - 2012
Founded - 2014
Employees - 51 to 100
Employees - 21 to 50
Headquarters - London
Headquarters - London
Funding - $5,300,000
Funding - Unknown
Onfido is a data-driven platform that
delivers intelligent background checks,
helping businesses across the world verify
anyone, anywhere.
Thought Machine is building technology to
revolutionise the way people bank. Their new
core banking platform Vault performs all the
traditional functions of a bank - but in a robust,
super scalable cloud computing solution.
• Raised $25m in Q1, 2016 to launch their
services in the US, bringing the total
investment raised to over $30m.
• The 1,000+ current customers have
already run a total of 10m checks.
• Team includes people with backgrounds
from Google to some of London’s top
design agencies.
5
4
onfido.com
thoughtmachine.net
Employee Growth
353%
Average Length of Employment (Y)
1.1
Senior Management Hires
4
New Employees
85
Employee Growth
850%
Average Length of Employment (Y)
1.2
Senior Management Hires
1
New Employees
54
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6. DIGITAL SHADOWS
Sector - Security
Founded - 2011
Employees - 21 to 50
Headquarters - London
Funding - $22,000,000
digitalshadows.com
Digital Shadows provides cyber situational
awareness to help businesses protect
against cyber-attacks, loss of intellectual
property, and loss of brand and
reputational integrity.
Employee Growth
276%
Average Length of Employment (Y)
1.2
Senior Management Hires
4
New Employees
51
7
TRANSFERWISE
Sector - Cross Border Payments
Founded - 2010
Employees - 101+
Headquarters - London
Funding - $90,400,000
transferwise.com
TransferWise is a smart alternative to
banks and brokers that enables consumers
and SMEs to make money transfers around
the world at a lower cost.
Employee Growth
266%
Average Length of Employment (Y)
1.4
Senior Management Hires
0
New Employees
365
8
DOPAY
Sector - Digital Banking
Founded - 2014
Employees - 21 to 50
Headquarters - London
Funding - $8,000,000
dopay.com
Because there are 2 billion people
worldwide who have jobs but no bank
account, DoPay offers banking services for
un(der)banked employees through their
employers.
Employee Growth
244%
Average Length of Employment (Y)
1
Senior Management Hires
3
New Employees
29
9
Average Length of Employment (Y)
1.2
RECEIPT BANK
Sector - Innovative Banking Software
Founded - 2010
Employees - 51 to 100
Headquarters - London
Funding - $15,000,000
receipt-bank.com
Receipt Bank makes the gathering, storage
and processing of receipts and invoices as
easy and as cost effective as possible.
Employee Growth
221%
Senior Management Hires
2
New Employees
111
10
SONOVATE
Sector - Alternative Finance
Founded - 2012
Employees - 51 to 100
Headquarters - London
Funding - $22,000,000
sonovate.com
Sonovate is the leading provider of finance
to UK recruitment businesses who place
contractors. Sonovate’s award winning
combination of finance and technology
is enabling UK recruitment businesses to
increase profitability.
Employee Growth
350%
Average Length of Employment (Y)
1.4
New Employees
49
6
Senior Management Hires
0
For more information get in touch on 020 7112 4949 or visit sonovate.com
7. WORLDREMIT
Sector - Cross Border Payments
Founded - 2010
Employees - 101+
Headquarters - London
Funding - $147,660,000
worldremit.com
WorldRemit is an online service that lets
people easily send money to friends and
family living abroad to a bank account, cash
pickup, Mobile Money, or Airtime top-up,
using a computer, smartphone or tablet.
Employee Growth
211%
Average Length of Employment (Y)
1.3
New Employees
257
12
TRANSFERGO
Sector - Cross Border Payments
Founded - 2012
Employees - 21 to 50
Headquarters - London
Funding - $2,710,000
transfergo.com
TransferGo allows customers to send
money abroad 10x cheaper than banks
and cash bureaus. TransferGo offers same
business day delivery and a guaranteed
destination amount without an extra
charge.
Employee Growth
193%
Average Length of Employment (Y)
1.6
New Employees
40
13
VOUCHEDFOR
Sector - Financial Planning
Founded - 2012
Employees - 21 to 50
Headquarters - Twickenham
Funding - $7,700,000
vouchedfor.co.uk
VouchedFor helps its users find the
best financial advisers, solicitors and
accountants for help with life’s biggest
decisions.
Employee Growth
175%
Average Length of Employment (Y)
1.5
New Employees
49
14
FLYPAY
Sector - Payments
Founded - 2013
Employees - 21 to 50
Headquarters - London
Funding - $12,440,000
flypay.co.uk
Flypay is a consumer services company
that transforms the restaurant payment
experience, allowing customers to check,
split and pay their bill from their phone.
Employee Growth
169%
Average Length of Employment (Y)
1.3
New Employees
43
15
Senior Management Hires
2
Senior Management Hires
2
Senior Management Hires
3
Senior Management Hires
5
Average Length of Employment (Y)
1.2
IWOCA
Sector - Alternative Finance
Founded - 2011
Employees - 101+
Headquarters - London
Funding - $31,500,000
iwoca.co.uk
Iwoca offers a new type of credit facility
designed for small businesses, allowing
them to take advantage of opportunities
previously only available to their larger
peers.
Employee Growth
214%
Senior Management Hires
1
New Employees
110
11
For more information get in touch on 020 7112 4949 or visit sonovate.com
8. EZBOB LTD
Sector - Lending
Founded - 2011
Employees - 21 to 50
Headquarters - London
Funding - $83,060,000
ezbob.com
Ezbob’s smart lending platform provides
a fast, flexible and convenient source of
credit to entrepreneurs looking to expand
their business.
Employee Growth
153%
Average Length of Employment (Y)
1.6
New Employees
36
16
ABIDE FINANCIAL
Sector - Innovative Banking Software
Founded - 2011
Employees - 21 to 50
Headquarters - London
Funding - Unknown
abide-financial.com
Abide Financial is a leading transaction
reporting provider with proven solutions
across multiple regulatory regimes.
Employee Growth
143%
Average Length of Employment (Y)
1.7
New Employees
38
17
PRODIGY FINANCE
Sector - Crowdfunding
Founded - 2007
Employees - 51 to 100
Headquarters - London
Funding - $100,000,000
prodigyfinance.com
Prodigy Finance is the pioneer in
community-based student finance. They
crowdsource funding from alumni and
institutional investors to send talented
international students to the world’s top
business schools.
Employee Growth
139%
Average Length of Employment (Y)
1.5
New Employees
66
18
SEEDRS
Sector - Crowdfunding
Founded - 2009
Employees - 21 to 50
Headquarters - London
Funding - $22,800,000
seedrs.com
Seedrs is the world’s leading equity
crowdfunding platform that makes it
simple for anyone to become investors
in ambitious, growth-focused European
businesses.
Employee Growth
120%
Average Length of Employment (Y)
2
New Employees
39
19
FUNDING CIRCLE UK
Sector - Alternative Finance
Founded - 2010
Employees - 101+
Headquarters - London
Funding - $273,240,000
fundingcircle.com/uk
Funding Circle is the leading online
marketplace for business loans, where
people and organisations can directly
lend to small businesses who can access
fast, fair and transparent finance, while
investors can earn attractive returns.
Employee Growth
116%
Average Length of Employment (Y)
1.7
New Employees
238
20
Senior Management Hires
1
Senior Management Hires
1
Senior Management Hires
2
Senior Management Hires
2
Senior Management Hires
3
For more information get in touch on 020 7112 4949 or visit sonovate.com
9. APPDYNAMICS
Sector - Innovative Banking Software
Founded - 2010
Employees - 101+
Headquarters - London
Funding - $314,500,000
appdynamics.com
AppDynamics is an intelligent platform
that gives software-defined businesses
the ability to proactively monitor, manage,
and optimise the most complex software
environments.
Employee Growth
113%
Average Length of Employment (Y)
1.7
Senior Management Hires
19
New Employees
774
21
ZOPA
Sector - P2P Loans
Founded - 2005
Employees - 101+
Headquarters - London
Funding - $56,600,000
zopa.com
Zopa is the UK’s largest P2P lending site
that offers P2P loans with low rates, flexible
terms, and no early repayment fees.
Employee Growth
112%
Average Length of Employment (Y)
2.2
New Employees
124
22
EBURY
Sector - Trading
Founded - 2009
Employees - 101+
Headquarters - London
Funding - $119,240,000
ebury.com
Ebury is a financial services company
specifically designed to empower small
and medium-sized businesses that want to
trade internationally, offering them tailored
currency services and flexible business
funding.
Employee Growth
102%
Average Length of Employment (Y)
1.5
New Employees
360
23
YOYO WALLET
Sector - Digital Wallet
Founded - 2013
Employees - 21 to 50
Headquarters - London
Funding - $24,010,000
yoyowallet.com
Yoyo Wallet is the fastest growing and
largest multi-retailer mobile wallet in the
UK that offers instant vouchers receipt for
rewards and in-app purchases and digital
receipts when using the app as a payment
method.
Employee Growth
100%
Average Length of Employment (Y)
1.4
New Employees
61
24
AZIMO
Sector - Payments
Founded - 2012
Employees - 51 to 100
Headquarters - London
Funding - $31,590,000
azimo.com/en
Azimo is a mobile and internet based
payment processing company allowing
customers to send money to banks, payout
locations and mobile phones in over 190
countries around the world, in more than
70 currencies.
Employee Growth
89%
Average Length of Employment (Y)
1.5
New Employees
84
25
Senior Management Hires
1
Senior Management Hires
3
Senior Management Hires
3
Senior Management Hires
5
For more information get in touch on 020 7112 4949 or visit sonovate.com
10. KANTOX
Sector - Trading
Founded - 2011
Employees - 51 to 100
Headquarters - London
Funding - $32,100,000
kantox.com
Kantox is a pioneer in the foreign exchange
industry, providing currency exchange and
international payment solutions for SMEs
and mid-cap companies.
Employee Growth
Average Length of Employment (Y)
1.5
New Employees
85
26
LENDINVEST
Sector - Real Estate
Founded - 2012
Employees - 51 to 100
Headquarters - London
Funding - $58,620,000
lendinvest.com
LendInvest is a fast-growing P2P mortgage
lending company for buy-to-let investors
and property entrepreneurs. Their goal is
to change the whole concept of mortgage
- from how to get one, to how they are
funded.
Employee Growth
80%
Average Length of Employment (Y)
2.9
New Employees
91
28
DUEDIL
Sector - Data
Founded - 2011
Employees - 51 to 100
Headquarters - London
Funding - $22,000,000
duedil.com
DueDil is a due diligence tool and online
company database which provides
business, accounting and director
information on businesses registered in the
UK & Ireland.
Employee Growth
67%
Average Length of Employment (Y)
2
New Employees
73
29
MASABI
Sector - Payments
Founded - 2001
Employees - 51 to 100
Headquarters - London
Funding - $20,800,000
masabi.com
Masabi is the global leader in transport
mobile ticketing enabling passengers to
buy and display tickets on mobile phones.
Employee Growth
54%
Average Length of Employment (Y)
2.2
New Employees
60
30
GOCARDLESS
Sector - Payments
Founded - 2011
Employees - 51 to 100
Headquarters - London
Funding - $24,800,000
gocardless.com
GoCardless processes direct debit
payments in a cleaner, simpler, quicker
way, making it cheap and easy for anyone
to take payments online using the Direct
Debit infrastructure.
Employee Growth
85%
Average Length of Employment (Y)
1.7
New Employees
70
26
85%
Senior Management Hires
1
Senior Management Hires
1
Senior Management Hires
3
Senior Management Hires
4
Senior Management Hires
4
For more information get in touch on 020 7112 4949 or visit sonovate.com
11. EARTHPORT
Sector - Cross Border Payments
Founded - 2010
Employees - 101+
Headquarters - London
Funding - Unknown
earthport.com
Earthport is a regulated financial services
organisation specialised in cross-border
payments to banks, e-commerce providers,
money transfer companies and payment
aggregators.
Employee Growth
50%
48%
Average Length of Employment (Y)
2.6
New Employees
95
31
NUTMEG
Sector - Investment
Founded - 2011
Employees - 51 to 100
Headquarters - London
Funding - $37,320,000
nutmeg.com
Nutmeg is the first discretionary
investment management service in
the UK that operates an end-to-end
online business model. Specialising in
investments, ISAs and pensions, the
Nutmeg investment management service is
intelligent, straightforward and fair.
Employee Growth
Average Length of Employment (Y)
2.2
New Employees
84
32
ANGELS DEN
Sector - Crowdfunding
Founded - 2013
Employees - 21 to 50
Headquarters - London
Funding - $1,000,000
angelsden.com
Angels Den is a face-to face Angel network,
with Regional Managers across the UK,
Singapore, Asia and Middle East busy
finding entrepreneurs and Business Angels
and bringing them together.
Employee Growth
45%
Average Length of Employment (Y)
3.6
New Employees
17
33
FREEAGENT
Sector - Financial Planning
Founded - 2007
Employees - 51 to 100
Headquarters - Edinburgh
Funding - $5,860,000
freeagent.com
FreeAgent is an online accounting services
that helps thousands of freelancers and
small businesses manage their company
accounts in a simple and stress-free way.
Employee Growth
39%
Average Length of Employment (Y)
2.7
New Employees
48
34
IIPAY
Sector - Financial Planning
Founded - 2003
Employees - 21 to 50
Headquarters - Cheltenham
Funding - $1,300,000
iipay.com
iiPay is a leading cloud-based payroll
company delivering global technology
solutions to domestic and multi-national
businesses.
Employee Growth
Average Length of Employment (Y)
4.2
New Employees
23
35
38%
Senior Management Hires
0
Senior Management Hires
0
Senior Management Hires
1
Senior Management Hires
2
Senior Management Hires
4
For more information get in touch on 020 7112 4949 or visit sonovate.com
12. OSPER
Sector - Digital Banking
Founded - 2012
Employees - 21 to 50
Headquarters - London
Funding - $11,200,000
osper.com
Osper is a prepaid debit card and mobile
banking service empowering young people
to manage their money responsibly.
Both parent and child get an app that
allows them to track spending on the card
together.
Employee Growth
Average Length of Employment (Y)
1.9
New Employees
43
36
PREPAID FINANCIAL SERVICES (PFS)
Sector - Payments
Founded - 2007
Employees - 21 to 50
Headquarters - London
Funding - Unknown
prepaidfinancialservices.com
Prepaid Financial Services is a payment
card supplier, e-money institution and
financial technology provider.
Employee Growth
Average Length of Employment (Y)
2.6
New Employees
31
36
CALASTONE
Sector - Payments
Founded - 2007
Employees - 101+
Headquarters - London
Funding - $22,820,000
calastone.com
Calastone is a global transaction network
for the mutual fund industry. Customers
processing domestic and cross border
Calastone transactions benefit from cost
and risk reduction.
Employee Growth
Average Length of Employment (Y)
2.7
New Employees
56
39
CHARITY BANK
Sector - Digital Banking
Founded - 2002
Employees - 51 to 100
Headquarters - Tonbrigde
Funding - $363,500
charitybank.org
Charity Bank is a savings and loans bank
with a mission to use savers_ money to
make loans to organisations with charitable
purposes. Charity bank is entirely owned
by charitable foundations, trusts and social
purpose organisations.
Employee Growth
Average Length of Employment (Y)
4.5
New Employees
25
39
MIURA SYSTEMS
Sector - Innovative Banking Software
Founded - 2008
Employees - 51 to 100
Headquarters - Stokenchurch
Funding - $16,000,000
miurasystems.com
Miura Systems provides secure electronic
payment hardware for the retail,
hospitality, financial, government and
healthcare markets.
Employee Growth
Average Length of Employment (Y)
3.3
Senior Management Hires
7
New Employees
45
40
38%
38%
27%
27%
25%
Senior Management Hires
0
Senior Management Hires
0
Senior Management Hires
0
Senior Management Hires
5
For more information get in touch on 020 7112 4949 or visit sonovate.com
13. LOOT
Sector - Digital Banking
Founded - 2014
Employees - 1 to 10
Headquarters - London
Funding - Unknown
loot.io
Loot is an online bank that helps people
budget and manage their money in an easy
and efficient way.
Employee Growth
Average Length of Employment (Y)
0.7
New Employees
8
41
ACCESSPAY PTY LTD
Sector - Innovative Banking Software
Founded - 2012
Employees - 51 to 100
Headquarters - Manchester
Funding - Undisclosed
accesspay.com
AccessPay provides next generation cloud
based solutions that transform payments,
cash management and treasury systems.
The AccessPay web modules drive new
efficiency, boosting productivity whilst
reducing costs.
Employee Growth
Average Length of Employment (Y)
4.5
New Employees
11
42
BORRO
Sector - Lending
Founded - 2008
Employees - 51 to 100
Headquarters - London
Funding - $171,570,000
borro.com/uk
Borro is an online company providing
secured loans for luxury assets such as fine
art, antiques, jewellery, luxury watches and
handbags. Borro was ranked 8th in KPMG’s
50 Best Fintech innovators globally in 2014.
Employee Growth
Average Length of Employment (Y)
3.7
New Employees
27
43
COGNIA
Sector - Data
Founded - 2005
Employees - 21 to 50
Headquarters - London
Funding - $4,570,000
cognia.com
Cognia develops cloud-based voice and
data solutions for financial institutions, the
government, and Fortune 1000 companies.
Employee Growth
Average Length of Employment (Y)
2.7
New Employees
33
44
MONDO
Sector - Digital Banking
Founded - 2015
Employees - 11 to 20
Headquarters - London
Funding - $11,840,000
getmondo.co.uk
Mondo is building a bank for people who
live their lives on their smartphones. The
Mondo Bank will instantly update balance,
give intelligent notifications and be easy to
use.
Employee Growth
Average Length of Employment (Y)
2.9
New Employees
332
45
24%
22%
20%
17%
16%
Senior Management Hires
0
Senior Management Hires
0
Senior Management Hires
1
Senior Management Hires
1
Senior Management Hires
7
For more information get in touch on 020 7112 4949 or visit sonovate.com
14. SKIMLINKS
Sector - Alternative Finance
Founded - 2007
Employees - 51 to 100
Headquarters - London
Funding - $25,300,000
skimlinks.com
Skimlinks is a leading content monetisation
platform that rewards publishers for any
e-commerce they drive by turning product
links and product references into trackable
affiliate links.
Employee Growth
Average Length of Employment (Y)
2.6
New Employees
72
46
SUMUP
Sector - Payments
Founded - 2011
Employees - 101+
Headquarters - London
Funding - $44,290,000
sumup.co.uk
SumUp is the leading mobile point-of-sale
(mPOS) company in Europe. The SumUp
card terminal allows small merchants to
accept credit and debit cards, using their
smartphones or tablets, in a simple, secure
and cost-effective way.
Employee Growth
Average Length of Employment (Y)
2.2
New Employees
77
48
CYBERTILL
Sector - Innovative Banking Software
Founded - 2001
Employees - 51 to 100
Headquarters - Knowsley
Funding - Unknown
cybertill.co.uk
Cybertill is an award winning end-to-
end cloud based retail system which
incorporates EPoS, ecommerce and mail
order applications. Cybertill helps retailers
manage their business from anywhere and
on any device.
Employee Growth
Average Length of Employment (Y)
4.3
New Employees
24
49
DATASIFT
Sector - Data
Founded - 2010
Employees - 101+
Headquarters - Reading
Funding - $77,000,000
datasift.com
DataSift is a human data platform that
enables companies to aggregate, filter,
and extract insights from public social
conversations, processing more than 2
billion human-generated interactions a day
without compromising consumer trust.
Employee Growth
Average Length of Employment (Y)
2.8
Senior Management Hires
5
New Employees
76
50
LMAX EXCHANGE
Sector - Trading
Founded - 2007
Employees - 101+
Headquarters - London
Funding - Unknown
lmax.com
LMAX Exchange is a multilateral trading
facility for FX & metals. LMAX Exchange
creates a transparent, neutral, level playing
field for all market participants.
Employee Growth
Average Length of Employment (Y)
3.9
New Employees
37
46
12%
12%
10%
4%
4%
Senior Management Hires
0
Senior Management Hires
0
Senior Management Hires
0
Senior Management Hires
5
For more information get in touch on 020 7112 4949 or visit sonovate.com
15. Reference shelf:
Angel List
Business Insider
CB Insights
City AM
Crunchbase
LinkedIn
Data source: LinkedIn.
Please note, the figures are used for guidance only.
At times, actual employee counts may differ from what is published.
For more information get in touch on 020 7112 4949 or visit sonovate.com