Investors’ Chronicle Interviews podcast with Tim Levene
In the latest Investors’ Chronicle Interviews podcast, Mary McDougall talks to Augmentum’s Tim Levene on the challenges and opportunities facing fintech investors, including how he avoids overpaying for companies and how he’s helping them prepare for tougher fundraising conditions.
Meet the team: Johnnie Martin
We are delighted to welcome Johnnie to our Investment Team.
Fintech Cappuccino podcast: Tim Levene on “where’s the money”
Tim Levene recently sat down with Fintech Cappuccino’s Conny Dorrestijn, founding partner of BankiFi and Non-Executive Director and Brian van Wachem, MD of RedSnap Inc., to discuss a number of topics including the pros and cons of a listing, patient capital and where the money is flowing in UK, Europe and beyond.
Augmentum’s Four Year Anniversary
Over the last four years, the team has worked hard to give both institutional and retail investors access to a diversified portfolio of high-growth private fintech companies and offer both patient capital and high quality, sector-specific expertise to portfolio companies to give them the best possible chance of success.
Grover completes $330 million Series C raise
With the new funding, Grover will accelerate its mission to democratise access to consumer tech, bringing the circular economy for electronics to new countries, and growing subscribers in existing markets – Germany, Austria, Spain, the Netherlands and the USA.
The Telegraph on Augmentum buying opportunity
For the right kind of investor, it looks like a fantastic opportunity to buy a really interesting long-term investment,” says Adam Ross of Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management.
Onfido reports another breakthrough year
Congratulations to Onfido for announcing another breakthrough year surpassing $100M revenue and 150 million cumulative verifications.
Business Insider: Augmentum’s Ellen Logan on fintechs to watch
Augmentum Investor Ellen Logan spoke to Business Insider to share her thoughts on the fintechs to watch in 2022, including Augmentum portfolio company Cushon.
Cushon acquires financial education specialist Better with Money
Congratulations to Cushon who have acquired financial education specialist Better with Money. Cushon, the fintech pension and savings provider, state the acquisition will allow them extend its existing proposition of high-quality financial education for the workplace.
Tide welcomes a 7% market share of the UK SME banking market
The UK’s leading business financial platform is now the 7th largest provider of banking services to UK SMEs and welcomed an additional 100,000 members in 2021.
Innovate Finance: “A Record-Breaking Year For FinTech”
The UK remains a leading destination for innovators and investors, trailing only behind the US in global FinTech venture capital investment…breaking $11.6 billion in VC deals, the UK accounts for 11.4% of global investment.
Cushon closes a £35m funding round and acquires pension scheme
Congratulations to Ben Pollard and the Cushon team who have closed a £35m fundraising round and announced their acquisition of Creative – manager of Creative Pension Trust.
CityAM: Calls on pension funds to fill fintech growth funding cap
Augmentum’s Tim Levene spoke to City AM for their piece on Ron Kalifa calling on pension funds to back British entrepreneurs and fill a major growth funding gap in the sector just as government reviews whether to relax restrictions on pension fund investment.
Beauhurst on the UK’s top fintech startups and scaleups for 2022
Beauhurst released their annual ranking of the UK’s top 50 fintech companies by total amount of equity. Portfolio companies included were Zopa, Tide, Monese and iwoca.
Financial Times: London start-ups attract record VC funding
Tech start-ups in London raised a record $25.5bn in funding last year, more than double the total in 2020…Fintech remains one of the fastest-growing sectors in London, accounting for nearly half of investment last year.
CityAM: “UK fintech investment surges after regulation refresh”
‘Total investment into British fintechs jumped more than 217% to $11.6bn in 2021…The UK’s fintech sector outpaced the rest of Europe and dominated the continent in terms of capital invested.’, according to figures from Innovate Finance, the UK fintech industry body.
Augmentum’s 2021 in Review
As we near the end of another eventful year, we wanted to reflect on the progress made across the Augmentum portfolio.
Monese acquire financial services provider Trezeo
Monese announce their acquisition of Trezeo as part of their wider push into credit and lending for independent, self-employed workers and those with untraditional lives and work.
The Telegraph: “The global banking sector has had a strong year”
“Investors who bet on the global banking sector have had a strong year. The industry has delivered returns of 37pc in 2021, beating the MSCI World Index – which tracks the biggest companies globally – by 17 percentage points”
Interim Report for the six months ended 30 September 2021
The Augmentum Fintech plc Interim Results for the six months ended 30 September 2021 were released this morning. Listen to Portfolio Manager Tim Levene talk through the highlights below, and read the full report here.
Meet the Team: Sarah Angeloz
We are delighted to welcome Sarah Angeloz to our team, as our Portfolio Analyst. Learn which Augmentum portfolio company Sarah has (coincidentally) worked with in the past and what she finds most interesting about the fintech ecosystem in our latest ‘Meet the Team’ feature.
Citywire: “UK stocks rise as BT rallies on merger optimism”
Citywire featured Augmentum Fintech in their latest piece on the rise of UK stocks. “Augmentum Fintech (AUGM) gained 2% or 3.2p to 161.2p after unveiling a 9% investment return after performance fees in the six months to 30 September.”
TechCrunch: Augmentum’s Richard Matthews on Sequoia’s model shift
Augmentum Fintech COO Richard Matthews spoke to TechCrunch to discuss Sequoia’s decision to become a registered investment adviser (RIA).
Beauhurst on patient capital & why it’s important for startups
The number of private UK companies raising first-time equity investment declined by 19% last year, the biggest year-on-year drop on record, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s clear many entrepreneurs are now in need of long-term capital fundraising, to help nurture their high-potential companies from startup through to scaleup.
Financial Times on Investment trusts rediscovering their roots
Financial Times featured Augmentum Fintech in their latest piece on Investment trusts. “Investment trusts seem to be coming full circle…Today, they are raising record sums to fund a new wave of innovation in a period of rapid technological change…”
Zopa raises £220 million in their latest funding round
We are pleased to be further supporting Jaidev Janardana and the Zopa team with a £10m investment as part of their £220m round, led by SoftBank. The funding will further support their plan to help even more UK consumers improve their financial health and access great borrowing and saving products.
Interning at Augmentum: Sivert’s Experience
Last month we hosted Sivert Rossnes Foss, a student from world-renowned Oslo-based BI Norwegian Business School, for a week-long internship. Learn about the projects and events Sivert got involved in.
Augmentum Fintech announces investment in Wematch
Augmentum Fintech has invested in capital markets trading platform, Wematch with participation from Deutsche Börse, Illuminate Financial and J.P. Morgan.
The Fintech Show: Tim Levene on future winners in fintech
Augmentum Fintech CEO Tim Levene spoke to Citywire Ian Horne about how to spot the future winners of fintech on the The Fintech Show podcast.
DueDil and Artesian announce strategic partnership
DueDil announce a new Strategic Partnership with Artesian Solutions, bringing together two of the UK’s leading FinTechs to transform the ability of the UK FSI Sector to find the right customers, onboard them quicker and keep them for life.
Monese enter new partnership with Investec
Monese and Investec have established a partnership to launch a digital current account in Britain. Investec will adopt Monese’s technology, offering digital banking to its existing wealthy customers before the launch of business accounts.
New investment in Anyfin
We are pleased to have invested in Anyfin in their Series B round. Anyfin leverages technology to allow credit-worthy consumers the opportunity to improve their financial wellbeing by consolidating and refinancing existing credit agreements with improved interest rates, as well as offering smart budgeting tools.
Grover reaches €100 million in Annual Recurring Revenue
Congratulations to Grover for reaching €100 million in Annual Recurring Revenue. An amazing achievement from the Grover team! A big win for the circular economy as more people embrace a more sustainable way to use technology through flexible access. Read more here.
David Kempton: “My must-have trusts for the global recovery”
‘Augmentum Fintech is one of Europe’s leading venture capital investors focusing exclusively on the fintech sector’, says David Kempton in his latest piece for Citywire.
Investors’ Chronicle: “Profit from the UK fintech boom”
Investors’ Chronicle explores the boom in late-stage venture in fintech and how investment trusts provide access to the market in their latest article.
Wayhome launch Gradual Homeownership
Wayhome has officially launched their ‘Gradual Homeownership’ model which aims to help aspiring homeowners who are unable to obtain a traditional mortgage to buy a home get on the housing ladder
MoneyWeek: “Augmentum Fintech – a buying opportunity for sceptics”
‘The trust has returned nearly 45% and has issued additional equity to double in size. The recent 15% drop in the share price provides a great opportunity for the sceptics to jump aboard.’
Grover raises $1 billion in new funding deal to democratise access to consumer tech
Congratulations to Grover as they announce raising $1 billion in financing, the largest financing round for a startup within the circular economy space.
Investment Week: “Crypto at ‘the point of no return’ according to the Augmentum trust”
Augmentum CEO Tim speaks to Investment Week for their latest piece to discuss the substantial changes he has seen within the fintech sector.
The Guardian: “UK fintech sector hits multibillion-pound peak of investor interest”
‘British fintech firms continue to attract huge amount of international investment…this is due to London’s continued strength as a financial centre where most business is done in English, its access to top tier universities, a diverse talent pool, and strong support from regulators and government’, says Janine Hirt, CEO of Innovate Finance.
Augmentum Fintech strengthens partnership with Tikehau Capital
We are delighted to announce our partnership with the global alternative asset management group, Tikehau Capital, who have €29.4 billion of assets under management (as of 31 March 2021) plus developed a wide range of expertise across four asset classes (private debt, real assets, private equity and capital markets strategies) as well as multi-asset and special opportunities strategies.
AltFi: “How Habito is planning to move beyond mortgages”
‘Habito One is finding traction amongst groups like older homeowners, those in their 50s who are looking for total repayment stability during the remainder of their mortgage’, says Dan Hegarty.
MarketWatch: “Augmentum Fintech Increases Target Size of Share Placing to Up to £55m”
‘The fintech-focused venture capital investor said the target size of its initial issue will now be up to £55 million ($75.9 million), increased from £40 million.’
The John Baron Portfolios: “Investment Trust of the Moment”
John Baron covers Augmentum in his latest ‘Investment Trust of the Moment’ update.
This is Money: “Our tip Augmentum Fintech rises 40% in three years – what next for investors?”
“Augmentum’s businesses are making strong progress. Annual results to March 31 this year showed that the portfolio is now valued at more than £180 million, up from £136 million in 2020.”
Financial Times: Tim Levene on bringing in more retail investors
“Augmentum was the first UK-listed venture capitalist to tap retail investors on PrimaryBid last October, and is now raising a further £40m, including from private investors.”
Female Fintech Founders Pitch Event
In May we hosted our first Female Fintech Founders Pitch Event in partnership with OutwardVC. We heard from seven brilliant early stage fintech Founders from across Europe during our live pitch event.
Investors Chronicle: Simon Thompson covers Augmentum in his latest piece
“Augmentum cashed up for new investments: Record NAV per share, Augmentum makes £22.8m investments post year-end and Portfolio companies raised £185m equity during financial year.”
Grover reaches 1 million registered customers
Grover brings the access economy to the consumer electronics market by offering a simple, monthly subscription model for technology products.
CoinDesk: Tesseract raises $25 million led by Augmentum Fintech
CoinDesk covered our latest investment in Finnish digital-asset lender Tesseract who have raised $25 million in Series A funding.
Augmentum leads Finnish fintech Tesseract’s $25m Series A round
Tesseract raises $25 million in Series A funding to strengthen institutional digital asset lending offering.
Tech Zero: Habito and Onfido are leading the climate crisis fight
Augmentum portfolio companies Habito and Onfido are working alongside other leading UK tech businesses to fight the climate crisis, accelerate progress to net zero and help consumers make greener choices through Tech Nation’s “Tech Zero” initiative.
Sifted: 2021 has been a record year for European fintech investment
So far this year, European fintechs have raised €10.4bn, trumping the €9.3bn raised across the whole of 2019 — the previous highest year on record according to Dealroom data.
Insider Intelligence: Augmentum Fintech on DeFi’s disruptive potential in finance
Augmentum’s Tim Levene and Ellen Logan spoke to Insider Intelligence about the disruptive potential of decentralised finance (DeFi).
AIC: Tim Levene on fintech and value rotation
“As the economy improves we expect fintechs to continue to grow the market shares they have won over the last 18 months…we are seeing an increase in investor appetite for fintech and we believe this trend will continue”, says Tim Levene.
AltFi: Tim Levene on Weathering the Covid-19 Storm
Augmentum’s Tim Levene spoke to AltFi for their Alternative Lending State of the Market Report 2021.
Annual Results for the year ended 31 March 2021
The Augmentum Fintech plc Annual Results for the year ended 31 March 2021 was released this morning.
See Portfolio Manager Tim Levene talk through the highlights below, and read the full report here.
Augmentum enters the workplace savings space with investments in Cushon and Epsor
We are delighted to announce our two latest investments, in Cushon and Epsor. Read on to learn about our pensions thesis and specific investment rationale for these two companies innovating in the workplace savings sector across the UK and France respectively.
The Economist Report: How fintech will eat into banks’ business
“Bankers, once kings of capital, may be dethroned by payment platforms”.
The Economist explores the shifting balance of power through looking at the significance of data and other ways in which tech companies are reverse-engineering banking in this “Banks vs big tech” special report.
Female Fintech Founders Pitch Event
We are pleased to announce our first Female Fintech Founders Pitch Event in partnership with Outward VC, happening on 20th May. Hear six early stage Founders pitch live and answer your questions in a Q&A.
“Fintech innovation will be at the heart of London’s recovery” says Lord Mayor
“Innovate Finance data shows $4.1bn was invested across 408 deals in 2020, putting the UK second only to the US in total capital raised, and showing the continued importance of the industry to the UK economy.”
Portfolio Exit: Dext
Congratulations to Dext on their new investment round, with Hg.
We first invested in the digital bookkeeping platform (then called Receipt Bank) in their Series C round back in January last year.
Meet the Team: Fareedah Daranijo
We are delighted to welcome Fareedah Daranijo to our team, as our Digital Marketing & Operations Assistant. Learn more about her in our latest “Meet the Team” feature.
Augmentum’s Ellen Logan and Georgie Hazell named to Women in Fintech Powerlist
Augmentum’s Ellen Logan and Georgie Hazell have been recognised on this year’s Innovate Finance Women in Fintech Powerlist, which exists to celebrate female leaders and innovators transforming financial services.
Meet the team: Reginald de Wasseige
We are delighted to welcome Reginald de Wasseige to our Investment Team. Learn what he finds most exciting about the European fintech scene, his favourite business biographies and how he has found relocating to London during the pandemic in our latest ‘Meet the Team’ feature.
Akash Bajwa Named as one of 20 European Tech Leaders to Follow on Clubhouse
“Founder of the European Tech Club, he moderates conversations in the Club and drops smart comments about European tech and fintech.” Augmentum’s Akash Bajwa has been named by Sifted as one of twenty European tech leaders to follow on Clubhouse.
Funds Insider: Financials have ‘huge upside’
David Stevenson explored the case for financials in his latest piece for CityWire’s Funds Insider. “In the same vein I would also thoroughly recommend a specialist investment trust called Augmentum (AUGM), run by Tim Levene, which I have invested in and puts money to work in much earlier stage fintech businesses, many of which are in the UK.”
Good Money Guide: Investing in Unlisted Fintech Companies
“Retail investors have embraced this emerging asset class, seeing us as one very effective way of indirectly getting exposure to a diversified set of assets.” Good Money Guide’s Richard Berry spoke to Tim Levene about the ups and downs of investing in fast-growing, unquoted fintech businesses.
The Kalifa Review of UK Fintech
The Kalifa Review of UK Fintech was published this morning, setting out a plan for the UK to retain its global leadership in fintech by helping the country’s financial technology firms to scale up, access the talent and finance they need, and deliver better financial services.
Mayor’s International Business Programme: The Fintech Club – 10th March
This special edition of The Fintech Club will cover the outcomes of the UK government’s Independent Strategic Review of UK Fintech, looking at priority areas for industry, policy makers, and regulators to explore to foster innovation, maintain an ecosystem that supports growing firms, and promote the integration of new technologies across financial services.
Receipt Bank rebrands to Dext
Receipt Bank rebrands to Dext. Hear all about their new chapter from CEO Adrian Blair and Tim Berners-Lee at their free event on 23rd February.
iwoca named in The Sunday Times Fast Track
iwoca has been named as the no. 1 small business lender and top fintech firm on The Sunday Times Fast Track.
Innovate Finance: Fintech Investor Office Hours Week
Augmentum’s Martyn Holman and Ellen Logan are looking forward to speaking with Innovate Finance members tomorrow as part of their Fintech Investor Office Hours Week.
Ellen Logan named as one of Europe’s top 30 young VCs
Augmentum Associate Ellen Logan named by Sifted as one of Europe’s top 30 young VCs, “poised to lead the next era of European venture”.
Onfido delivers record revenue year for 2020
Global identity verification and authentication company Onfido has announced another record growth year in 2020, with global annual recurring revenue (ARR) increasing by 82% YoY.
Event: Power to Black Founders
We’re looking forward to being involved in the next Power to Black Founders event with Founders Factory, TechNation and 10×10.
Gamestop craze is boon for funds platform interactive investor
“The stampede of small retail investors into the stock market has sent customer numbers surging at one of Britain’s biggest investment platforms.”
Augmentum enters the DeFi space with ParaFi
As we kick off 2021 we are delighted to announce our investment in and partnership with ParaFi Capital, who are backing pioneers in the decentralised finance (DeFi) and blockchain spaces.
Supporting Investment: How VC fund structures affect investor behaviours
How do investment funds structure their capital, and what does this mean in practice for the companies in which they invest? Whilst it might seem an obscure question, the reality can have quite some impact
2020: A Year in Review
As we come to the end of an unprecedented year, we wanted to take the opportunity to reflect on what has been an exceptionally busy twelve months for our team and portfolio companies.
Meet Volt.io, Augmentum’s Latest Investment
We are delighted to announce an investment into open banking payments platform VOLT.
Interim Results Announced
We are delighted to announce the Augmentum Fintech plc Interim Results for the six months ended 30 September 2020.
Meet the Investor: Martyn Holman
In our latest ‘Meet the Investor’ feature, we speak to Augmentum Partner Martyn Holman. Learn about Martyn’s route into VC, his view on the most underrated skill for working in the industry and the learnings he’s taken from his passion for long-distance running.
Onfido announces new leadership for the next phase of growth
Earlier today, Onfido announced a change in leadership for their next phase of growth.
‘Crisis To Catalyst’ Fintech Film by BBC StoryWorks and Innovate Finance
Released earlier today, the 30 minute film explores the evolution of fintech and digital transformation in the wake of the 2008 crash and more recently, COVID-19, featuring interviews with leading voices from across the fintech industry, including Augmentum Fintech CEO Tim Levene.
Technology Stocks for the New ‘Normal’
“A trading update for the six months to 30 September 2020 highlights just why the offer is worth taking up. Augmentum’s diversified portfolio of 18 private fintech companies offer innovative technologies, asset-light business models and have adapted well to the new ‘normal’. Many are performing incredibly well.”
Augmentum Fintech announces placing following strong performance over the year-to-date
“Augmentum Fintech (AUGM), one of the year’s best-performing investment companies, announced its intention to conduct a placing to raise gross proceeds of up to approximately £28m at a price of 120p”
Monese and Mastercard enter strategic partnership to better serve the underbanked across Europe
The two firms have teamed up to provide better financial services to those relying on the gig economy, the self-employed and those living abroad.
Seedrs and Crowdcube Announce Merger Plans
Earlier today, equity crowdfunding platform Seedrs announced plans to merge with Crowdcube, creating one of the world’s largest private equity marketplaces.
Tide win £25m in BCR funding in partnership with ClearBank
SME business bank Tide has been awarded £25m from the RBS Alternative Remedies Package Pool E Fund, in partnership with ClearBank.
5 Portfolio Companies Named in The Fintech 50: ‘Top European Fintech Companies to Watch’
Onfido, Farewill, Habito, Monese and Previse feature in this year’s The FinTech 50: “The top European fintechs to watch in 2020”, and Onfido takes the top spot.
Augmentum named as a Diversity VC Standard ‘Pioneer Fund’
We are delighted to be a pioneer fund for the Diversity VC Standard, championing diversity and inclusion across our investment and internal fund processes.
“Augmentum Fintech offers tremendous potential”, says John Baron for Investors Chronicle
“Investment trusts are a superior option” and “Augmentum Fintech offers tremendous potential”, says John Baron in the latest Investors Chronicle podcast.
Business Insider: 7 Hottest Lawtech Startups to Watch in 2020
Augmentum portfolio company Farewill featured in Business Insider’s “7 Hottest Lawtech Startups to Watch in 2020” article.
Investors Chronicle podcast: “To PE or not to PE?”
“On this week’s investment hour, James Norrington talks to Augmentum Fintech’s chief executive Tim Levene about his fund’s approach to investing in one of the fastest growing areas of technology.”
IG: An intro to fintech in the UK: companies, stocks and how to invest
“The UK is a hub for fintech, but most companies remain in private hands. We outline ten UK fintech stocks that can help you gain exposure to this fast-growing sector.”
Habito announce their £35m Series C and B Corp certification
The newly disclosed round — comprising an earlier Series C equity raise and a more recent Series C extension in the form of a convertible loan note, was led by new investors Augmentum Fintech, SBI Group and mojo.capital
Master Investor: Fintech investing in the age of COVID-19
In our latest piece for our Master Investor fintech investing column, Martyn Holman looks at the reaction of venture capital in the wake of COVID-19, in particular those investing in the fintech industry, and explores the longer-term possibilities for the space.
QuotedData’s Investment Companies Roundup – August 2020
“Augmentum Fintech has featured regularly in the ‘winners’ section since April, with digitisation take-up being propelled by the pandemic”
Citywire Wealth Manager: Private equity: the state of play in the UK
At Wellian Investment Solutions, wealth manager Richard Philbin gets exposure to private markets both by investing in dedicated private equity funds such as 3i and the venture capital fund Augmentum which provides exposure to unlisted fintech firms.