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BRITAIN’S technology sector is a better bet for investors than Silicon Valley, according to venture capitalist and Government envoy Eileen Burbidge.
Burbidge, who has been dubbed ‘Queen of the venture capitalists’ and acts as an ambassador for the UK’s financial technology industry, said this country’s market for technology was less crowded and was thriving despite the Brexit vote.
The claim appeared to be supported by research showing that in the first half of the year, more than £1.3billion was ploughed into UK tech by venture capitalists, with £1.1billion of that in London, more than in any other half-year in a decade.
The research from the Mayor of London’s agency, London & Partners, revealed the capital’s tech sector has attracted more venture capital investment than any other European city since the Brexit vote.
Burbidge, who moved from her native America to the UK to work for Skype in its early days and founded venture capital firm Passion Capital, said Silicon Valley is ‘much more competitive, it’s a crowded market’. About a third of Passion Capital’s portfolio is fintech, including digital bank Monzo and small business banking company Tide. A $50 million (£38.4 million) investment in accountancy start-up Receipt Bank has also boosted the UK fintech sector. New York’s Insight Venture Partners led the investment, one of the biggest deals in UK fintech since Brexit. Other fintech start-ups that have recently secured funding include Cleo and Curve.
Burbidge said: ‘Even with Brexit or other macroeconomic influences, the fintech sector within digital is one that’s just going to continue to grow. The earliest consumer-facing propositions are reaching scale and we’re starting to see it expand into business to business services, which will create and command even more value.’
Citing the impact technology has had on publishing, news and information, music, content, book-buying, auctions and marketplaces, she said: ‘There’s no reason why Britain can’t be leading in some of these sectors’
But even Burbidge, who says her fintech envoy role involves ‘being a megaphone for why the UK is the best place in the world for fintech’, said of Brexit: ‘I feel very strongly that the biggest risk and the area of greatest vulnerability is… the potential loss or the diminished ability to attract talent from outside the UK.’