Our Blog: Press
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”
Meet the team: Akash Bajwa
We are delighted to welcome Akash Bajwa to our Investment Team.
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.
AltFi: Augmentum Fintech ends the year up 5.9%, sees opportunities ahead
Coronavirus and changing consumer behaviours present a the fintech sector with “significant opportunity for further disruption,” Tim Levene, the CEO of listed investor Augmentum Fintech said today.
Watchlist Small Caps on the Upgrade
“There is no doubt in my mind that Augmentum is performing well. Annual results revealed an unrealised portfolio gain of 18 per cent on invested capital.”
Augmentum Fintech hails Covid chance as Zopa launches bank
“Augumentum Fintech (AUGM) has hailed the ‘fundamentally changed behaviours’ engendered by Covid-19 as pivotal for the young financial technology companies it backs” wrote Jeremy Gordon for Citywire’s Investment Trust Insider.
Augmentum Fintech plc Announces Final Results
Augmentum Fintech plc announce its Final Results for the year ended 31 March 2020.
Augmentum wins AIC Shareholder Communication Award
We are pleased to have won ‘Best Marketing Campaign’ in the The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) Shareholder Communication Awards 2020.
Receipt Bank acquires data processing platform Xavier
Receipt Bank acquires data processing platform Xavier
AltFi: Here are the fintech sectors which are thriving (and those which are just surviving)
AltFi: Here are the fintech sectors which are thriving (and those which are just surviving)
Onfido wins two CogX 2020 Awards
Onfido wins two CogX 2020 Awards
Augmentum joins FTSE SmallCap and AllShare Indexes
We are delighted to announce that Augmentum Fintech plc will be joining the FTSE SmallCap Index and the FTSE AllShare Index with effect from after the close of business on 19th June.
Augmentum Head of Engagement Georgie wins WeAreTheCity Rising Stars Award
Augmentum Head of Engagement Georgie wins WeAreTheCity Rising Stars Award
iwoca joins list of CBILS accredited lenders
iwoca joins list of CBILS accredited lenders
Tide accredited to deliver Bounce Back Loans
Tide accredited to deliver Bounce Back Loans
An intro to fintech in the UK: companies, stocks and how to invest
An intro to fintech in the UK: companies, stocks and how to invest
Fintech in the Eye of the Storm
Fintech in the Eye of the Storm: A fintech investor’s view of the industry in 2020 and beyond
UK Fintech Week 2020
Today marks the start of UK Fintech ‘Week’ (taking place from 14th April until 1st May).
Augmentum Fintech launches TeenVC
We are delighted to announce the launch of TeenVC, powered by Augmentum Fintech, a free digital education platform where teenagers can learn about Venture Capital (VC) and entrepreneurship.
Investors Chronicle: Exploiting market mis-pricing
Simon Thompson of Investors Chronicle featured Augmentum Fintech in his “Exploiting market mis-pricing” article today.
COVID-19 Potential Impact and Portfolio Progress
Our note to Shareholders outlining our approach towards managing the fund in light of the COVID-19 developments.
Launch of Augmentum’s Master Investor fintech column
In the first article of our 'Fintech Investing' column for Master Investor, Augmentum Partner Martyn Holman weighs in on the rise of fintech and its position in the wider European venture capital ecosystem.Read the full article here
Augmentum Capital Markets Day 2020
Yesterday we hosted the annual Augmentum Capital Markets Day at Plaisterers' Hall in the City of London. The audience of institutional investors heard about Augmentum's investment strategy and progress, along with the latest developments from across our portfolio from...
Augmentum’s Georgie Hazell named in the Innovate Finance Women in Fintech Powerlist
Our Head of Engagement Georgie Hazell has been named in the 'Standout 35' and 'Rising Stars' categories of the Innovate Finance Women in Fintech Powerlist 2019.See the full list here
Playing the long game: An interview with Tim Levene
Soldo's Martino Tramontin recently interviewed Augmentum CEO Tim Levene. They discussed evolving consumer behaviour in fintech, the Augmentum portfolio, the future of fintech and what being publicly listed means in practice for Augmentum.Read the article here
FT: “interactive investor to acquire Share Centre”
Financial Times published this article about Augmentum portfolio company interactive investor, on 18th February: "interactive investor to acquire Share Centre... Tie-up would see the UK’s second-largest investment platform manage £36bn of assets". Read the...
Innovate Finance 2019 Investment Landscape Report
Innovate Finance have published their 2019 Fintech Investment Landscape report, which highlights the UK's position as a European and global leader. The report explores the latest investment trends and top deals, European and global rankings, and much more. We were...
iwoca 22nd in Sunday Times International Track 200
iwoca ranked 22nd in the "Sunday Times International Track 200: British private companies with the fastest growing international sales" Read more and see the full rankings here
Onfido announces 130% year-over-year growth and rapid US expansion
Onfido, today announced a year-over-year growth of 130%. The significant revenue growth, coupled with its first US acquisition, key leadership appointments and sustained industry recognition, signal continued scale and growth for the company as it focuses on widening...
Investors Chronicle: How the 2019 Bargain Shares portfolio beat the market
Augmentum was featured in this Investors Chronicle article; "Trading 10 per cent below NAV, and with pro-forma cash of £17m on hand to invest, Augmentum's shares have scope to resume their upward trajectory. Buy." Read the full article here
20 European start-ups changing how we spend and manage money
Grover was featured in this Silicon Republic article on the 20 European startups changing how we spend and manage money. Read the full article here
London Startups to Watch in 2020: Augmentum and 6 portfolio companies feature
Augmentum are in good company in the "111 London startups to watch in 2020" ranking from SeedTable, alongside portfolio companies Onfido, Receipt Bank, Tide, Habito, iwoca and Seedrs. Read more and see the full list here
Augmentum was one of the most active VCs in London Tech in 2019
Augmentum was featured in this London TechWatch article; "These are the 7 Most Active London Venture Capital Firms in 2019". Read the full article here
Augmentum invests £7.5m into digital bookkeeping platform Receipt Bank
We are delighted to announce our first investment of 2020, £7.5m into digital bookkeeping platform Receipt Bank. Read the full announcement here and hear Tim Levene explain why the team are backing the company below...
How to Invest in Fintech
Are you thinking about whether you should invest in fintech? Learn more about investing in fintech with Augmentum.
Cambridge MBA Visit: Careers in VC
We were delighted to host an ambitious group of University of Cambridge MBA students at our offices last week, offering them an insight into a career in VC. We wish them all the best for their upcoming exams!
Podcast: Freddie Evans interviewed for the Associated Podcast
Augmentum Associate Freddie Evans discusses Augmentum Fintech's unique structure, what his first day at the fund was really like and his views on what makes both a great investor and investment in the latest 'Associated' podcast episode. Listen here [49 mins]...
We are Tech Women’s #TechWomen100: Georgie shortlisted
Our Head of Engagement Georgie Hazell has been shortlisted for We are Tech Women and JP Morgan's #TechWomen100 awards. See the full shortlist here
AltFi Awards and Powerlist 50: Augmentum and Tim Levene named
Augmentum Fintech CEO Tim Levene has been named in the AltFi Powerlist 50: "The 50 most influential European people in fintech", alongside portfolio Founders/CEOs Daniel Hegarty (Habito), Norris Koppel (Monese), Jeff Lynn (Seedrs), Dr. Oliver Prill (Tide), Christoph...
Investors Chronicle: Trusting in fast-growing unlisteds
Investors Chronicle featured Augmentum in their article: "Trusting in fast-growing unlisteds" from 14th November 2019. Read the article here
Meet the team: Ellen Logan
We are delighted to have recently welcomed Ellen to the Augmentum Investment Team as an Associate. Learn about why she chose to make the leap from consultancy into VC, and what it is about fintech in particular that appeals. Why did you choose to move into...
This is Money: Augmentum Fintech offers retail investors entry into UK’s technology hotspot
This is Money featured Augmentum in their article: "Small cap share ideas: Augmentum Fintech fund offers retail investors entry into UK's technology hotspot" from 4th November 2019. 'What's unusual about us is we are the only listed fintech fund in the UK,' says [Tim]...
Augmentum wins ‘One to Watch’ at the Growth Investor Awards
Augmentum has won 'One To Watch' in the 'Growth Investor of the Year' category at the 2019 Growth Investor Awards. See the full list of winners here
Augmentum Fintech: A route into some of Britain’s best growth hopes
Proactive Investors interviewed Augmentum CEO Tim Levene for their article Augmentum Fintech: A route into some of Britain's best growth hopes. “What's unusual about us is we are the only listed fintech fund in the UK,” says Levene. “We are allowing retail and...
The Times: “One to augment your share portfolio”
Miles Costello wrote about Augmentum in his article "One to augment your share portfolio" for The Times' Tempus on 15th October.Read the full article here
Habito launches Habito Go
Mortgage Introducer wrote the following about Habito's new service. "Habito has launched ‘Habito Go’, a home-financing service designed to give first-time buyers the advantages and negotiating power usually only enjoyed by cash buyers. With Habito Go, buyers are able...
Onfido Co-Founders named in Business Insider’s UK Tech 100: The 100 most influential people shaping British technology in 2019
Onfido Co-Founders Eamon Jubbawy, Husayn Kassai and Ruhul Amin have been named in the UK Tech 100: "The 100 most influential people shaping British technology in 2019". "Husayn Kassai, Eamon Jubbawy, and Ruhul Amin are the founders of Onfido, an AI-powered...
Fintech Magazine Profiles Monese
Fintech Magazine featured Monese in this article from 11th October 2019. "Monese was founded in 2013 by Estonian entrepreneur, Norris Koppel. The bank employs around 200 people, which according to Financial News is due to go up to 500 by the end of the year. The firm...
DueDil partners with Metro Bank
Metro Bank are boosting their SME offering with new fintech partnerships with Funding Options, Conance and Augmentum portfolio company DueDil. "In 2020, Metro Bank will deploy DueDil’s predictive company intelligence platform for a speedier account opening process,...
Challenger bank Tide raises £44m from Japanese investment giant SBI
The Telegraph featured Augmentum portfolio company Tide on 6th October: "An arm of a Japanese investment giant has poured tens of millions of pounds into challenger bank Tide as the lender prepares for a major hiring spree. Japan’s SBI, an early spin-off from...
This is Money on Farewill: “Fixed-fee £595 probate service seeks to undercut lawyers and banks hitting the bereaved”
This is Money featured Augmentum portfolio company Farewill on 4th October: "A fixed-fee probate service aimed at under-cutting banks and solicitors that charge a percentage of an estate has been launched by online wills specialist Farewill." Read the full article...
Augmentum invests €6m in German technology rentals platform Grover
We are delighted to announce our first investment in Germany, a €6 million investment in German technology rentals platform Grover. Augmentum’s investment leads a €11 million funding round, and coincides with Grover signing a new €30 million debt facility with...
Investors Chronicle: “Augmentum’s eye-watering investment gains”
Investors Chronicle featured Augmentum in this article on 25th September. "Augmentum Fintech, the first publicly listed fintech fund in the UK, continues to justify my decision to include the shares, at 102.4p, in my market-beating 2019 Bargain Shares portfolio." Read...
Event: Fintech Bitesize Pitches with Seedrs
We’re pleased to be supporting the first fintech edition of the popular Seedrs ‘Bitesize Pitches’ on 25th September at Level39 in Canary Wharf and look forward to meeting lots of fintech teams and investors.
Augmentum shortlisted in the Investment Company of the Year Awards
Augmentum Fintech plc has been shortlisted for 'Best New Issue' in the Investment Company of the Year Awards. The awards aim to recognise and reward excellence in close-ended fund management and will take place on 20th November in London. See the full list here
Tide reaches 100,000 members
A year and a half after launching, Tide has signed up 100,000 members. See Tide's announcement on the milestone and learn about some of their customers here. Read The Telegraph's article on the announcement here.
Interning at Augmentum: Learnings of a first experience in VC
Anissa Zeghdoudi interned with Augmentum as an Analyst for three months over the Summer. Here, she shares her experiences: VC smart One of the main reasons I was excited about interning in the venture capital industry was because I was hoping to meet very smart...
Meet the team: Rahil Patel
Rahil has recently joined Augmentum's Investment Team as an Analyst. Get to know his motivations for working in the industry and what he'll be getting up to here... Why did you choose to join Augmentum? The unique nature of being the only listed fintech-focused...
Investors Chronicle: “Augmentum has been delivering eye-catching investment gains”
Investors Chronicle featured Augmentum in their "Beating the Market" article from August 12th 2019: "Augmentum has been delivering eye-catching investment gains, reporting an annualised internal rate of return (IRR) of 28 per cent since IPO, buoyed by gains on its two...
Farewill: How we raised our Series A
Investment Week wrote about Augmentum portfolio company interactive investor‘s acquisition of Alliance Trust Savings (ATS):
“The completion of the acquisition, which was first announced in October 2018 and included the Alliance Trust office building in Dundee, brings together the two largest fixed-price retail investment platforms with combined assets under administration (AUA) of £36bn and some 400,000 customers.
Richard Matthews speaks to The AIC: Investing in unquoted companies
Richard Matthews spoke at a media roundtable hosted by The Association of Investment Companies (AIC)'s Annabel Brodie-Smith about investing in unquoted companies, covering topics such as the closed-ended structure of investment companies, the opportunities in market...
Tide and Monese named in LinkedIn’s ‘Top 25 UK Startups’
Investment Week wrote about Augmentum portfolio company interactive investor‘s acquisition of Alliance Trust Savings (ATS):
“The completion of the acquisition, which was first announced in October 2018 and included the Alliance Trust office building in Dundee, brings together the two largest fixed-price retail investment platforms with combined assets under administration (AUA) of £36bn and some 400,000 customers.
Citywire: Interview with Tim Levene
Citywire Editor in Chief Gareth Lumsden interviewed Tim Levene. They discussed the Financial Conduct Authority, fintech ecosystem growth and the sub-sectors we find particularly compelling. Watch the video here
The Convertible Loan Note: Having the faith to convert
Augmentum Venture Partner Martyn Holman explains the purpose and mechanics of Convertible Loan Notes.
Citywire: Augmentum Fintech eyes Europe after £26m raise
This is the first stage in a £150 million share issue programme approved by shareholders last month, with Augmentum looking to target wider European opportunities, which Levene has put at around £450 million. Last year, $40 billion was invested globally in fintech companies across 2,300 deals, according to Augmentum.
Investors Chronicle: Fintech’s Big Bang
Investors Chronicle featured Augmentum in this article from 5th July. "It’s not clear retail investors can get much exposure to most hyped fintech companies, even if they wanted to... This poses a “real threat to retail investors”, says Tim Levene of Augmentum Fintech...
interactive investor completes acquisition of Alliance Trust Savings
Investment Week wrote about Augmentum portfolio company interactive investor‘s acquisition of Alliance Trust Savings (ATS):
“The completion of the acquisition, which was first announced in October 2018 and included the Alliance Trust office building in Dundee, brings together the two largest fixed-price retail investment platforms with combined assets under administration (AUA) of £36bn and some 400,000 customers.
Monese announce free Premium accounts for refugees
In celebration of Refugee Week, Monese were proud to announce an ongoing project to support refugees across the UK.
“We’re committed to giving out our Premium plan to refugees (usually £14.95 a month) for free, for life. The Premium plan waives all transaction fees, granting our customers entirely free current account facilities.
Master Investor: Strong start for new Fintech fund
Master Investor featured Augmentum in this article from 20th June. "Augmentum Fintech’s (LON: AUGM) portfolio of unquoted, early stage Fintech businesses has risen by an impressive 10.7% during its first year, with the managers looking to take advantage of a healthy...
Citywire: Good luck to Augmentum, it may get financial startups right
Citywire wrote about Augmentum in this article from 19th June. "Trusts such as Augmentum may be the only way private investors can get access to the market-leading companies of the future. Most parts of the private equity market are dominated by US companies and US...
Financial News: ‘Momentum for Augmentum’
The Financial News featured Augmentum in their The Fintech Files newsletter: "Listed investment trust Augmentum Fintech has had a busy few weeks. First, it published a promising set of results that revealed an “unrealised annualised IRR” of 28% on its seed portfolio...
The fintechs coming to fix business banking, compared
Small business banking is broken. Now the race is on to fix it – but who has a head start?
Two awards for Zopa at the Moneywise Customer Service Awards 2019
Zopa won the award for ‘Most Trusted P2P Platform’ at the Moneywise Customer Service Awards, and were highly commended in the ‘Most Trusted Loans Provider’ category.
Citywire: Augmentum Fintech seeks £30m for Europe expansion
Citywire wrote about Augmentum in this article from 17 June: "Augmentum Fintech (AUGM), the £106 million venture capital investment trust backing peer-to-peer lender Zopa and stockbroker Interactive Investors, is looking to raise £30 million in its first share issue...
Investors Chronicle: Exploiting the fintech investment opportunity
Investors Chronicle wrote about Augmentum in this article from 12 June: "Augmentum Fintech(AUGM:111p), a leading venture capital investment group that became the first London Stock Exchange listed fintech fund when it raised £94m, at 100p a share in March 2018, has...
Equity Raise: Proposed Initial Placing, Offer for Subscription and Intermediaries Offer
Further to the announcement made by the Company on 5 June 2019, the Board of Directors of Augmentum Fintech is pleased to announce the proposed issue of new ordinary shares (“Ordinary Shares”) to raise gross proceeds of approximately £30 million (the “Initial Issue”)...
Augmentum Fintech: Plenty of room to grow [Fidante Report]
Fidante took a closer look at the growth opportunities for Augmentum Fintech ahead of our annual report: "Augmentum Fintech (AUGM) will publish its first full-year report on 11 June 2019. Since its IPO on 13 March 2018, the company has deployed its capital...
London Fintech Podcast: IPO-ing & patient VC capital via closed-end funds?
Augmentum CEO Tim Levene spoke to London Fintech Podcast's Mike Baliman. "Today we merge two fascinating topics – the Gold Medal for a startup – the Public Listing and innovating in Venture Capital to provide more patient capital. Our guest who connects these...
Podcast: The Future of Finance with Augmentum CEO Tim Levene
The Future of Finance podcast hosted Tim Levene, Partner & CEO at Augmentum Fintech. They talked through his entrepreneurial journey from a juice bar in Canary Wharf to the first publicly traded fintech-focused VC in the UK and the sheer scale of opportunity in...