UK FinTechs expect revenue growth to double
Written by Anthony Strzalek
07/09/2017
Half of UK FinTechs expect their revenue growth to more than double in the next year, but question remarks remain around customer adoption, a new survey has found.
The census, conducted by Innovate Finance and EY, revealed that half of respondents are expecting global revenue growth of over 100 per cent in the next 12 months. Historical average UK revenues, another key indicator of success, grew by 22 per cent between 2014 and 2016, where average revenues reached £5 million.
The figures also show that UK FinTechs received an average of £15 million in investment to date. Looking at future funding, half of all respondents said they expect their next funding round to be more than £2 million, with 35 per cent anticipating more than £5 million.
In aggregate, FinTechs expect a total of £2.5 billion for their next funding round, and 33 per cent of respondents expect an initial public offering to be likely in the next five years.
However, the industry believes it faces challenges in recruiting skilled talent. Respondents feel that coding and software development would be the most difficult skills to find when recruiting – 78 per cent of respondents ranked this in their top three – followed by product and sales skills.
Another key concern for the industry is the worry that customer adoption rates will not be sufficient to build the size of the userbase. Half the respondents (49 per cent) cited this as one of the biggest challenges facing them in 2017.
Imran Gulamhuseinwala, global head of FinTech at EY, said: “It is fascinating to see the ambitious growth plans of UK FinTechs, both in terms of hiring new talent and expansion into new markets, which will continue to drive revenues and investment in the sector.
“Their concerns about the availability of talent and the uptake of FinTech services by customers are very real, however. The calibre of people leading and running FinTechs is a fundamental pillar to success – as is the future pipeline. Without a large and diverse talent pool, the industry will struggle to retain its ability to innovate.”
Charlotte Crosswell, Innovate Finance interim CEO, added: “The United Kingdom is an influential global FinTech leader but as the census findings reveals, we must continue to attract the talent we need to continue our growth and to help drive a more competitive, transparent and inclusive financial services sector.”
