Nearly 500 Fintech deals were completed in Q1
Royal Park Partners (RPP), a fintech focused corporate advisor organisation, released their latest Quarterly Fintech Market Update, which showed nearly 500 fintech financing and M&A (mergers and acquisitions) deals in the first quarter of this year.
The fintech index continued its upward swing from the previous update, adding another 4% from the December 2023 value, and 46% to the January 2023 numbers.
Looking at the UK, fintech is situated comfortably as the number one investment sector according to HSBC, surpassing the energy sector. According to them, UK fintech raised roughly £1.1bn across 73 rounds with some notable late-stage rounds for Monzo, Flagstone, and PPRO.
In Q1 this year, there were 248 financing deals in fintech, and their value was down from ~£11.2bn in Q4 2023 to ~£6.2bn. This, however, highlights the continued investor caution against the backdrop of ongoing geopolitical instability and inflation.
Sector wise, Insurtech stocks saw the value of deals hike up 61% quarter-on-quarter, outpacing other sectors like payments (+5%) and wealth management tech (+4%).
Crypto also attracted a significant amount of financing, with 25% of total financing rounds in Q1 being in crypto.
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Looking at M&A, there were 240 deals reaching a total value of $70bn (£56bn), with the most notable being the $35.3bn (£28.2bn) Capital One – Discover agreement.
“Royal Park Partners’ simulated Fintech Index offers an indication of how publicly listed fintech companies are faring in comparison to their peers. Despite short-term pressures, our analysis reveals that fintechs are showing consistent adaptability, and their robust performance is a testament to their resilience,” said Aman Behzad, managing partner at Royal Park Partners.
“Over the next quarters, we can expect to see this confidence in public markets transposing into the private markets, as investors adapt to a new paradigm with higher interest rates and inflation, and fintech continues to generate value creation opportunities.”
