London Fintech Scene Booming

The European Digital City Index (EDCi) lists cities in Europe that are entrepreneurs in the fintech industry. The EDCi 2016 is based on skills, access to assets, business environment, digital infrastructure, market and mentoring. London leads and Stockholm is second.
Lastminute.com NV (SWX:LMN) is one of the more established companies on the index, headquartered in London. This is listed as a ‘unicorn’, a billion-dollar startup, that helps lead the way for others. Year-to-date the booking website has seen 4.58 percent gains.
Investors should look out for food delivery service Deliveroo, expected to be an IPO prospect. As such, their financials are unknown but it has raised a massive €442.8 million in funds. In contrast, this is a scaleup, a rapidly-growing firm with a minimum of 10 employees.

Brexit

The data however does not take into account the results and consequences of Brexit, reflecting statistics that were compiled before the vote. In voting ‘leave’, Britain likely diminished London’s talent pool in a ripple effect akin to the Trump effect on tech workers. Indeed the NYSE Fintech Index PR (INDEXNYSEGIS:NYOMFTX) hit a historic low in the aftermath of Brexit.