Fintech firm lands £9m investment package

A Manchester fintech firm has landed a £9m investment package.

Transatlantic venture capital investor Beringea is leading the £9m investment in AccessPay.

The funding, backed also by US investors True Ventures and Route 66, is one of the largest ever investments in a financial technology company in the region.

Maria Wagner, Investment Director at Beringea, led the deal.

The investment marks the expansion of Beringea’s footprint in the North West, as the firm has launched its first dedicated office in the region in central Manchester.

The expansion will allow Beringea to work more closely with fast growing businesses and to provide capital to support the acceleration of the region’s digital economy.

AccessPay was founded in Manchester in 2012 and has grown into an established leader in fintech.

Its platform allows finance teams to achieve significant cost and efficiency savings, as well as security improvements around global payments and cash management.

The platform connects corporate back-end systems with global banking and financial services providers.

AccessPay is used by more than 500 corporate clients across the UK including Barclays, the AA, and ITV and processes over 40 million transactions a year.

The firm will use the investment to expand its sales, marketing and engineering teams and further develop its software platform.

AccessPay is the fastest growing fintech company outside of London, according to the Deloitte Fast 50 rankings.

The business is led by Anish Kapoor, a highly experienced entrepreneur who has previously built a number of multimillion-pound technology companies.

He was the co-founder of TeleCity, Europe’s largest data centre operator, leading the business to its listing on the Stock Exchange at a valuation of £500m in 2000.

Anish Kapoor said: “The world of banking and financial management has changed and continues to do so at pace.

“Legislation, customer demand and rapid advances in technology, mean the choice of banking and financial services providers available to finance and treasury teams, especially those looking to transform their operations, is greater than ever before.

“The problem we continue to see are these services operating in total isolation to one another, which often means the corporate is faced with exposure to security, greater risk and complexity in day-to-day operations.

“Connecting these services through our platform, removes these issues and enables the change finance and treasury teams are looking for.

“From the outset of our conversations, Beringea has recognised this challenge and the opportunity it presents for AccessPay to grow its market share, in the UK and beyond, and helping us with our mission of transforming finance and treasury teams.”

Maria Wagner, Investment Director at Beringea, said: “Beringea seeks to back thoroughbreds that can become lasting successes.

“Corporate payments have not seen the same level of innovation as consumer payments. AccessPay’s platform solves a big pain point for large corporates.

“We were really impressed with the team and Anish’s leadership and we look forward to joining them on this journey to harness a global market opportunity.”

The Manchester office of Beringea will be led by Marc Shirman, former co-head of Muzinich & Co’s UK private capital fund.

Beringea manages over £500m in funds in the UK and the US with over 60 portfolio companies spanning North America and Europe.