Brexit Britain Smashes Fintech Investment Records, Beats Out Entire European Union

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - JANUARY 26: A statue of a dragon holding the Coat of Arms marks t
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Kurt Zindulka

Brexit Britain has outpaced the entire European Union, the Middle East, and Africa in fintech investment during the first half of the year.

Trailing only the United States in fintech (financial technology) investments since leaving the European Union at the beginning of the year, the UK has smashed all-time records in investments.

Raking in an astonishing £17.73 billion($24.5bn) during the first half of the year, the UK has once again defied the doomsday predictions from Project Fear that Brexit would damage business and the British economy.

Indeed, during the entire year leading up to Britain’s official departure from the European Union, the UK only managed to take in £4.26 billion ($5.9bn) in fintech investments, City AM reported.

The UK was only bested by the United States in terms of fintech investments, which took in $42.1bn during the same time period. Britain’s closest European competitor were the Nordic countries, yet they trailed far being Britain with only £3.47 billion ($4.8bn) collectively.

The UK head of financial services at KPMG, Karim Haji said: “Covid has spurred a race to digital in UK financial services and many of the major banks have dipped into their investment pots for digitalisation – a major reason we are seeing so much corporate investment.

“This timing, together with the UK’s reputation as a historic financial services sector and ongoing work to nurture fintechs, from testing through to listing, makes the UK a magnet for investment.”

The good economic news comes on top of a report from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) in July, which found that some 250 manufacturing businesses have seen record levels of output growth in 16 out of 17 sub-sectors, with the automotive industry, transport equipment, food and drink, and tobacco sub-sectors leading the way.

“Manufacturers expect output to grow at an even quicker pace in the next three months – the strongest growth expectations on record,” the CBI added.

In April, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted that the UK will outpace the European Union in terms of economic growth. This flies in the face of the dire projections proffered from the IMF itself prior to the Brexit referendum in 2016.

The massive success in the fintech sector was perhaps foreshadowed in February when reports emerged that some 1,000 financial firms in Europe were planning on opening offices in the UK for the first time.

A managing consultant at the financial consultancy firm Bovill, Mike Johnson, said at the time that it demonstrated that EU firms “recognise London’s potency as a global financial centre and want to be able to conduct business here.”

Follow Kurt Zindulka on Twitter here @KurtZindulka

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