Lex’s analysis of the UK fintech sector (“Fintech may not be the spark that fires up London’s IPO market”, Lex, March 12) portrays the rising players as being too small for a London listing, and therefore unable to lead the IPO (initial public offering) revival.
Yet this singular focus sidelines the significant progress that the fintech sector has made over the past few years.
London has emerged over the past 15 years as a global leader in fintech, receiving more investment than anywhere else in the world bar the US, and more than all of the rest of Europe combined.
More importantly, it is UK fintechs that are putting the consumer back at the heart of the industry, making financial services more inclusive, more democratic, more effective and better for everyone.
This is a far cry from the sector which was previously viewed as the outlier with a collection of small, mostly unprofitable, start-ups.
Today, eight out of every 10 adults in the UK are regularly using at least one fintech tool, and 60 per cent of lending by small and medium-sized enterprises across the country is being done by fintechs.
Now, the UK boasts a strong arsenal of fintechs with plenty of potential. It’s this spirit of optimism that we must retain in our fintech sector — and our international leadership must not be taken for granted.
We must continually push forward, driving an environment that allows our promising fintech companies to grow, scale and ultimately list here.
Janine Hirt
Chief Executive, Innovate Finance,
London EC2, UK
