UK-based Loot, a digital banking startup, has secured 2.2 million pounds in funding. The lead investors in this round were Portag3, Speedinvest and Power Corporation‘s corporate VC arm.
PRESS RELEASE
London, 13th December 2017 – Loot, the digital banking service used by over 50,000 people, has secured an additional £2.2 million in seed funding, taking total funding to £6 million. This round raised £2.2 million led by Power Corporation’s corporate VC, Portag3 and Speedinvest.
Loot is aimed at millennials – or the young at heart – who increasingly run their lives from their smartphone. Ollie Purdue, the 24-year-old founder of Loot, created the company in 2014 in his final days at university after struggling with money management apps and clunky banking interfaces at university. Ollie set about building Loot, changing the relationship between young people and their money, no matter how high or low their balance. December 2016 saw the launch of their full current account, designed to replace your bank and had all the tools built-in to help manage money.
The latest investment will be used to help implement the mid-term plan to make Loot fully automatic, whilst looking to see how they can integrate the best social features into the platform.
Steph Choo, who is managing partner at Power said of Loot: “We’re really excited to be supporting Loot as they continue to develop both their brand and new features. Loot has already had a huge impact on their target market, which consists predominantly of students and young professionals – we’re looking forward to Loot’s expansion over the next year and beyond.”
Ollie Purdue, Founder and CEO of Loot said, “We want our users to know more about their spending, so they can do more with their money. This means letting them know how much they can spend freely (and safely), so that they can save and pay their bills. Loot’s goal is to work out the best way to manage our users money, so users can focus on what they’re really interested in. Right now we can replace a traditional bank account and help our users manage their money and track their spending through our app.”
The new funding will also be used to take on the competition: “I guess there are two types of competition for us at Loot. The banks and the money management apps. The banks have significant market share, but struggle with helping people understand their money, and, in my opinion, they also struggle with tech and branding. For example, since I started Loot, my Natwest app hasn’t materially changed in any way I would notice it. That’s too slow for me as a user. The new fintech banks are much better at this, but none of us are at scale yet.
Money management apps approach the user problems at a different angle but as they don’t own the accounts, it’s hard to be proactive for the user as you can’t help them move their money. Also, with a money management app you are still stuck with having to choose a bank! At Loot, we are trying to merge the two so we can be the only financial account you need.”
About Loot
Loot is an online digital banking platform founded in the summer of 2014 by Ollie Perdue. It features a full current account which can, and aims to, replace your bank account. It has a variety of tools to help users manage their money and is available on iOS, Android and Web.
About Global Founders Capital
GFC is a globally oriented, stage agnostic venture capital firm that empowers gifted entrepreneurs world-wide
About Speedinvest
Speedinvest not only invests capital in world-class talent, but also provides the entrepreneurial know-how, and operational experience that is rare outside of a place like Silicon Valley, but is so essential to building great companies.
About Portag3
Portag3 make early-stage investments in promising financial tech companies that have potential for global impact. Their long-term engagement offers a unique environment to grow, with robust support, and insight from our partners.
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