U.K. financial-technology startups are raising fresh investment cash at a fast clip, a boost for London as it tries to hold on to its role as a global financial center post-Brexit.
London-based Checkout Ltd., a behind-the-scenes processor of online payments for businesses, became Europe’s most valuable venture-backed company last month after raising $450 million from investors including New York-based Tiger Global Management and Singapore sovereign-wealth fund GIC, in a round that valued it at $15 billion.
British fintechs, including Revolut Ltd. and Monzo Bank Ltd., raised a combined $4.3 billion last year, second only to the nearly $22 billion raised in the U.S. That put the U.K. ahead of places like China and Germany, according to PitchBook data.
London’s leadership as a fintech startup hub, however, hasn’t fed through to its public stock market. The London Stock Exchange lacks the giant technology companies that have come to dominate U.S. and