Italy’s largest investment bank pledges to back UK fintech start-ups

London-based startup accelerator Founders Factory has acquired a new partner, Mediobanca. The Milan-based investment bank is looking to increase its presence in the UK and has pledged €12 million to the joint venture.

Specifically, Mediobanka blockchain and artificial intelligence Over the next five years.But it also includes early-stage fintech startup Also in other parts of Europe.

Founders Factory was co-founded in 2015 by Brent Hoberman, Henry Lane Fox, and George Northcott and to date has supported over 300 companies worldwide through its Venture Studio and Accelerator. The company said it is currently investing in fintech, health, climate change, media and telecoms, consumer and Web3.

“Combining our venture building capabilities and fintech experience with Mediobanka’s heritage, financial strength and global ambitions creates a powerful platform to support fintech founders.” Founders Factory CEO Henry Lane Fox said in a statement announcing the partnership:

Fintech startups Founders Factory has backed to date include climate risk modeling software company Dovetail, AI-powered commercial real estate investment tool BuiltAI, landlord accounting software Hammock, and end-to-end mortgage platform Acre.

Do you expect a weaker UK Fintech investment climate?

Fintech has traditionally been one of the UK’s most successful technology sectors. 2021 saw a record investment of $13.5 billion (approximately €12.2 billion). Despite the global recession, 2022 has been quite strong with investment. down only 8% compared to the previous year.

However, UK fintech declined by up to 37% compared to the second half of the previous year as the weather remained cautious throughout the first half of 2023.Even more disconcerting is that the vast majority of transactions happened in the first quarter.

Mediobanca is Italy’s largest investment bank. Besides Milan, the company has offices in Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Luxembourg, New York and Paris. Under the new strategy, Mediobanka aims to expand its portfolio. In May of this year, the investment bank acquired Arma Partners, a UK-based “financial advisor for the digital economy” with over $100 billion (€90 billion) in annual revenue.

€12m may not be a huge drop in the venture sea, but Mediobanka’s diversification efforts could prove to be something of a lifeboat for the fintech ecosystem.