UK financial and professional services tech

In spite of global economic headwinds, the UK remains a hotbed of successful and innovative FPS technology businesses. These are anchored by a leading financial centre with deep pools of expertise, talent, and capital - and strong connections to global markets.

There's a wealth of opportunities to be had for both fintech founders, and investors, from seed to scale. Public UK tech companies have outperformed the wider UK market by 43% in the past five years. Technology funds performed equally well, with an internal rate of return (IRR) of 15.5% for funds investing since 2000, but 30.3% for funds investing from 2014 onwards. This represents significant growth in performance, also reflected in the multiples. The total value to paid-in capital reached 2.7x for the funds investing from 2014.

This success is supported by a densely concentrated ecosystem allowing capital, ideas and expertise to flow between entrepreneurs, FPS advisors, investors, and regulators. The UK’s regulatory regime was named the most favourable globally for financial services. Recent improvements via the Financial Services Markets Bill make it even more competitive.

Last but not least, the UK also offers a diverse, international and highly skilled talent pool with a unique combination of technology and FPS expertise. Almost half (47%) of all graduates come from business, mathematics or IT programmes. To retain access to global talent for fast-growing FPS firms, the UK Government launched a scale-up visa in August 2022. This allows successful overseas applicants to qualifying companies to relocate for two years, and matches leading offers from Singapore and France.