Six European cities attract 70 per cent of all investments in European private FinTech companies

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As cities around Europe compete to become the region’s most active FinTech hub, half a dozen are successfully establishing themselves as the main destinations for FinTech investments, according to research from FinTech Global, a data and research provider.

Seventy per cent of the total capital raised by all private European FinTech companies in the first quarter of 2017 went to companies based in London, Berlin, Stockholm, Paris, Barcelona and Amsterdam.

More than a third of the aggregate of $1,164m in FinTech investments was claimed by London-based FinTech companies (36 per cent of the total), which was more than three times as much as companies located in the second-placed city, Berlin (12 per cent).

The major change seen in the distribution of investments by city in Q1, 2017, compared to the previous three years, was that Berlin doubled its share from 6 per cent to 12 per cent at the expense of cities ranked outside the European top 10, which fell from an aggregate of 31 per cent to 25 per cent.

Given the economic benefits of developing a vibrant FinTech ecosystem are very attractive, it’s no surprise the rivalry between European cities to attract capital and talent is intense. The figures show London has proven to be resilient to the Brexit vote of June 2016 and that other European cities made huge strides in raising their levels of activity. Whether London can stay so far ahead of the pack after last week’s UK general election remains to be seen as the competition between European cities intensifies further.