Technology

Posted on January 2, 2020 by staff

£1bn ambition for Manchester’s Raisin UK

Technology
Manchester-based tech firm Raisin UK has revealed a £1 billion target for 2020.

Last year the UK arm of the company welcomed five new banks to its platform including lending giant OakNorth.

Raisin UK was launched in 2017 after the acquisition of PBF Solutions by German-founded Raisin in 2017.

In July 2019 the parent company received an investment of €25 million from Goldman Sachs, taking its total investment to €195m and making it the best-funded tech start-up in the savings and investment area in Europe.

The UK arm of the online marketplace now offers different savings accounts from over 13 banks, with many more due to join the platform in early 2020.

“This year has been significant for us laying down a strong foundation to achieve our £1 billion targets next year,” Raisin UK CEO Kevin Mountford said.

“From tech partnerships with leading money management apps Yolt and Monese, we’ve also developed strong distribution partnerships with UK market leaders Legal & General and ClearScore.

“Since our launch, we’ve seen changes in the market that are driving a savings-savvy consumer that is driving a highly competitive market. Consumers are now actively seeking out better rates and locking their money away for longer periods than ever before.

“Over the last six months, we have seen a six per cent uplift in customers choosing fixed-term savings accounts over 12 months, which has been increasing MoM which we predict will continue to grow well into 2020.

“Our own focus, for next year, is to scale the business with the launch of new products, such as Easy Access savings accounts, to widen the platforms appeal to a broader consumer.

“We also have a healthy stream of banks that we are onboarding onto the platform and some really exciting distribution partners that we should be launching in Q1.”

Raisin UK’s chief operating officer Lee Stretton told BusinessCloud in August that Brexit uncertainty wasn’t helping its growth plans.

Across Europe, Raisin has brokered $18 billion and has 225,000 customers across 31 European countries on its seven platforms. It has 87 partner banks.