Technology

Posted on February 13, 2019 by staff

Starling Bank raises £75m to fund expansion

Technology

A leading digital banking platform has raised a total of £75 million in new funding.

Starling Bank has completed a funding round led by Merian Global Investors, including the Merian Chrysalis Investment Company Limited for £60 million.

It has also raised a further £15 million from its existing investor. The new investments bring the total investment secured by the challenger bank to $96.8 million.

The new funding will support increased investment in the London-based bank’s financial products in retail and SME banking as well as banking services in the UK.

It will also enable the bank to accelerate its global expansion, starting in Europe.

Since launching its app in May 2017, Starling has built up a customer base of 460,000 personal current accounts and 30,000 SME accounts. The bank expects to hit one million customers by the end of 2019.

Starling’s Banking Services division, which makes the bank’s proprietary banking and payments infrastructure available to third parties, has 20 institutional clients, including three new customers this week, while payment volume in its Payment Services is doubling month on month.

Anne Boden, founder and chief executive of Starling had previously hinted at a European expansion plan.

“Building our platform and launching in the UK to provide genuine choice to retail, SME and Banking-as-a-Service customers was just the first step,” said Boden.

“Our ambition is to use our technology to build a next-generation global, digital banking platform, starting with our launch across Europe this year.”

“We look forward to the support of the Merian Chrysalis team as we deliver the Starling product to a global audience.”

The Starling Marketplace, Europe’s first fully integrated financial marketplace provides customers with access to third-party financial services and now has 11 partners, with many more in the pipeline.

Merian Chrysalis is an LSE-listed investment company advised by leading asset management firm Merian Global Investors, which was formerly named Old Mutual Global Investors. Merian Global Investors has a total of £28.9 billion under management (as at 31 December 2018).

Merian Chrysalis, is co-managed by Richard Watts and Nick Williamson members of Merian Global Investors award-winning small and mid-cap desk, which manages approximately £6 billion in client investments.

“Financial services is a market undergoing considerable change, driven by technology and users’ desire for better and more convenient offerings,” said Williamson.

“The Starling team has developed a highly impressive and efficient platform, which we believe positions it well to continue to take share in core banking markets, as well as the ability to offer innovative new services in the future.

“We are delighted to be backing Anne and her team with this investment, and look forward to supporting them as they realise the full potential of the business.”