FinTech Zopa Valued At £1 Billion After Raising £220 Million Before IPO

zopa-logo

The London FinTech firm Zopa achieved unicorn status, raising another £220 million in funding, taking its valuation to £1 billion.

Zopa started as a peer-to-peer lending service in 2005 but in the proceeding years has begun to provide banking services.

Zopa becomes the latest UK start-up to achieve this status and was able to do so with the backing of many investors. This group was led by the Japanese SoftBank Vision Fund 2.

It also involved existing investors such as IAG Silverstripe, Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP, NorthZone and Augmentum Fintech.

This funding comes at a perfect time as Zopa, led by CEO and Co-Founder Jaidev Janardana (pictured below), are preparing for their IPO in London which is coming in the final quarter of 2022.

They are on track to turn a profit by the end of this year and they expect to double their run rate to £170 million by 2022.

In 2019, Zopa maintained its provisional banking licence after raising £140 million but in 2020 they were able to get a full baking licence.

Zopa already has over 500,000 users in the UK and is focused on its loan and credit products as well as offering savings accounts and auto-finance.

Sourav Sen, the investor for SoftBank Investor Advisers said in a statement that “We believe Zopa’s fast-growing market penetration reflects high customer demand for adaptable financial services within a usable platform that can be customised to their specific needs.”

“Zopa is fast emerging as a leading player in the UK’s nascent neobanking sector and we are proud to partner with Jaidev and the team on this journey.”