The Mayor of London Praising Tech startups for driving the British economy
The UK tech sector received 70 per cent more funding from VCs last year, compared with 2014, with start-ups gaining just $2.1bn in 2014, research reveals.
London’s Silicon Roundabout:[pictured above] the UK capital has yet to produce a company the size of Facebook or Google Though GOOGLE Eric Schmidt approval that UK has 100% potential to conceive a billion pound online tech startup. Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today program , Mr Schmidt said that "Britain is the leader in e-commerce in the world, far ahead of the United States.
The majority of the funding was obtained by London-based tech groups, which raised a total of $2.28bn, an increase of $1.3bn on the same period a year earlier.
The UK’s technology sector is continuing to attract record levels of venture capital funding, with companies raising more than $3.6 billion in 2015, according to figures compiled by London & Partners, the Mayor of London’s promotional company1.
The investment represents an increase of over 70 per cent on the record amount raised in 2014 ($2.1 billion). London-based tech companies raised a record $2.28 billion during the period, representing a 69 per cent increase on the $1.3 billion raised in 2014.
Analysis of VC investment by London & Partners shows that since 2010 UK technology companies have collectively raised almost $10 billion ($9.7bn) with London-based firms accounting for more than half of the total ($5.2 billion). During 2015 the investment secured by London-based tech firms accounted for 63 per cent of total VC investment raised by UK tech firms.
Mayor of London Boris Johnson MP said: “The Mayor of London Boris Johnson MP said: “With a flourishing tech scene and one of the world’s leading financial centres, it is no surprise to see that London’s tech companies are attracting record levels of investment. Our world-class talent pool and our culture of innovation and entrepreneurial spirit are helping the sector to grow from strength to strength. We can expect the capital’s tech sector to continue to generate jobs and growth for the city’s economy for many years to come.”
Online Real Estate Agents
A staggering £360m [ $540 million] valuation now, for just three high profile online estate agencies The online real estate industry is strong growing and definitely NOT GOING AWAY and at the disdain [with no surprise] of the old high st industry business model. .Lets just put that into perspective, that's over half a billion dollars -which is not chump change, Mr Warren Buffet.The public are winning from fixed fees and transparency from the on liners which can be hardly said for the high st debacle of yesteryear.
purplebricks.com £240 Million who successfully listed on aim stock london stock exchange
just the beginning CEO Micheal Bruce purplebricks
easyproperty.com £100 Million who also had a new £14 million round of funding from tosca hedge fund.
Rob Ellice CEO easyProperty 'Funeral' for High Street Estate Agencies #FatFeesRIP
How Episode 1 Ventures helps it's entrepreneurs CEO emoov Russel Quirk
It is hard to fathom that back in 2009 VCs were far from convinced that Airbnb was ever going to be a big enough business to pump venture into. Fast forward to 2015 and businesses are being created that effectively sit on top of Airbnb, meaning that the then tenacious startup is now arguably an ecosystem in its own right.
London-based Hostmaker is one such business. It describes itself as an Airbnb hospitality management service, providing Airbnb hosts with housekeepers and concierge, as well as supporting them with things like pricing and marketing, including the listing of the property and providing professional photography.
more broadly, the startup aims to solve the problem that for some Airbnb hosting has almost become a full time job and encompasses “listing your home and pricing it right to attract the right guest, coordinating housekeeping, washing linen, exchanging keys, maintenance issues etc.”
To help fuel growth and further European expansion — the service is currently available in London, Barcelona and Rome, and serves about 5,000 guests per month — the company has closed £1.3 million in seed investment led by DN Capital.
Eileen Burbidge [pictured above], Partner at Passion Capital and Mayor of London tech ambassador said:
“Today’s record investment figures offer further proof that the UK’s tech sector continues to mature. Investors are increasingly attracted by the diversity of London’s tech ecosystem but also our strengths in certain sectors such as FinTech. With more investment coming in from overseas and greater access to London-based growth funds, there has arguably never been a greater time to start and grow a digital business in London.”
Boosting Economic Growth
The government wants to inject innovation into the process of home buying, ensuring it is modernised and provides consumers with different – and potentially quicker, simpler and cheaper – ways to buy and sell a home. Encouraging new business models (for example, online only estate agents) is key to enhancing price competition in the real estate sector, but these have yet to penetrate the market.
In addition, emerging findings from government research suggest that consumers incur costs of around £270 million each year when their transactions fall through and they have already spent money on legal fees and surveys,18 and many more sales are subject to costly delays. Similar issues can affect businesses trying to buy or sell commercial property – the UK ranks 45th for registering property in the World Bank’s Doing Business index,19 and improving performance will help unlock additional economic growth.
London’s booming financial technology (‘FinTech’) sector has also continued to secure record funding during 2015. The sector accounted for almost a quarter of all investment raised by London-based tech companies. Some of the largest FinTech deals this year include: Zopa ($106m), TransferWise ($58m) and WorldRemit ($100m).
In April 2015, London-based peer-to-peer lending company, Funding Circle secured the largest single deal of the year with a $150m funding round led by DST Global. James Meekings, co-founder and UK Managing Director Funding Circle said: “Small businesses are the lifeblood of the economy and we’re passionate about helping them to access finance by connecting them directly with investors. The money we raised, from some of the world’s leading investors, allows us to continue to increase the number of small businesses that can borrow through Funding Circle, both in the UK and across the world. We want to become the first choice for small business lending.”
Last year was also a strong one for the UK’s ecommerce sector, with a number of companies featuring in the top ten deals including: FarFetch ($86m), MADE.com ($60m) and Secret Escapes ($60m).
The online takeaway start-up Deliveroo had a successful year securing a total of $195m in three separate funding rounds. William Shu, co-founder and CEO of Deliveroo, said: “We're proud to be a London-based company. Not only is the city great for investors and tech talent, but it's been an ideal launch pad for our global business."
Investment into London’s technology sector has been boosted by a growing number of venture capital houses choosing to setup funds and operations in London. In October 2015 Octopus Ventures [also early investor in leading property portal zoopla] announced a $140m London based fund, joining the likes of Passion Capital, Index Ventures and Hoxton Ventures who already have a presence in London and have chosen the capital as a strategic base to invest in European technology start-ups.
Separate research from London & Partners found strong backing for London tech companies from local investors with 50 per cent of all VC deals originating from investors based in the UK.
However, London tech companies are also enticing US investors, with almost one third (29%) of all deals into London-based tech firms originating from US venture capital investors.
Gordon Innes, CEO of London & Partners added: “With London businesses receiving over 60 per cent of all the funding into the UK’s tech sector, it’s clear that investors believe that London offers a great return on investment. As well as some of Europe’s most exciting start-ups, the capital now houses businesses of genuine scale. These companies are flourishing as they are able to benefit from the city’s easy access to talent and international markets. This makes London one of the world’s most attractive tech hubs for entrepreneurs and investors alike.”
In 2015, Index Ventures [who has also help accelerate leading uk and overseas property portal zoopla via VCs Fred Dustin and Robin Klein ]n a was the most active investor into London tech companies, participating in 12 deals worth up to $345.55. Index’s high profile investments in 2015 include Deliveroo, Secret Escapes and Onefinestay.
The top five investment houses in London tech companies for 2015 also include: Accel Partners, Balderton Capital, 83North and Hoxton Ventures.
Further Reading
How BlockChain may solve fraud in Real Estate property industry #CRE
UK is online shopping capital of europe with 4 out of 5 buying products online
buying letting renting property and homes, will never be the same again
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