Five disruptive UK tech firms to watch

Companies focused on disruptive innovation are embracing new technologies and environmental challenges, making many of them well-positioned for future success. With this in mind, we take a look at five still privately-owned, fast-growing UK tech companies to watch.

We’ve selected companies across the cyber security, fintech and clean energy space, all of which are tracked by data platform Beauhurst, which analyses thousands of high-growth, disruptive UK start-ups.

You can track a host of disruptive innovation themes on our thematic performance screener, from Artificial intelligence (AI) through to Water and Work From Home.

Panaseer

Cybersecurity firm Panaseer develops software that enables businesses to analyse the security of their data, with its platform offering continuous, real-time monitoring. Panaseer, formed in 2014 by former consultancy executives at BAE Systems [BA.L], has secured a total of £13.5m of investment and partnered with PwC, leveraging its executive reporting dashboards “which are informed by continuously updated, accurate, assurance metrics from Panaseer”, reports Consultancy.uk.

The digital security sector has seen record levels of investment during the pandemic, with the move en masse to remote working prompting “a surge in demand for cybersecurity solutions, and Panaseer was no exception”, says Beauhurst’s Hannah Skingle. The company’s turnover has increased from £714,000 in 2019 to £2.37m in 2020, an impressive jump of 234%.

Looking at the wider sector, the Cyber Security theme has been one of the best performers on our thematic screener over the last week, rising 3.00% (as of 16 April’s close).

Moneybox

Savings and investment firm Moneybox offers easy access to shares and ISAs via its mobile app. Customers can invest from just £1 in the stock markets, with a low annual fee. Unlike rivals such as Nutmeg, Moneybox enables everyday payments to be rounded up to the nearest pound, so customers can easily make small, regular contributions.

Launched in 2016, Moneybox’s turnover rose by 128% in 2020 to £2.51m. The fintech firm has raised £54.5m over five funding rounds, backed by investors including Eight Road Ventures, Oxford Capital and Samos Investments. The company raised £30m from both existing and new investors in July 2020, swiftly followed by a further £7m raised via crowdfunding platform Crowdcube. Moneybox met its aim of raising £1m in just 20 minutes on the platform, raising £4m in four hours. Such was its success that Moneybox recorded the second-highest number of investors ever, after Monzo’s 2018 crowdfunding campaign, reports AltFI.

TransferGo

London-based fintech firm TransferGo has created an online payment system allowing its users to transfer money internationally with mid-market exchange rates and low fees. Established in 2013 by then 24-year-old CEO Daumantas Dvilinskas, TransferGo “follows in the footsteps of fintech giant Wise”, says Skingle. Wise is currently in discussions with UK regulators about launching an IPO via a direct listing.

TransferGo has already taken a healthy market share, with 2.5 million customers worldwide, and recorded a 117% growth in revenue in the last year, from £7.03m in 2019 to £15.2m in 2020, reports Beauhurst. TransferGo has raised £40.6m across eight funding rounds, including a €5m loan from Silicon Valley Bank in November 2020. Last December, TransferGo announced a partnership with MasterCard [MA], enabling customers across 20 European countries to make international money transfers from any payment card or bank account directly to MasterCard cardholders.

Bulb

Renewable energy supplier Bulb provides 100% renewable electricity and 100% carbon-neutral gas. All of its customers pay the same tariff, and can switch from their old provider in just two minutes, as Bulb simply informs the old energy supplier and pays any exit fees. The clean energy start-up has raised £65.3m, £60m of which came from its last round of fundraising in June 2018. This took the company’s valuation to £351m, and Skingle reckons today’s valuation is significantly higher still, thanks to “sustained sales growth since then.”

Bulb’s revenue leapt 85% in the year ending March 2020, up from £823m to £1.521bn, reported Current News. In turn, losses narrowed from £129m to £59m, “despite significant investment in technology and expansion”, says Current’s Molly Lempriere, suggesting the firm is moving closer to profitability. Bulb is also expanding, having launched in the US, France and Spain, and is ranked by the Financial Times as the fastest-growing company in Europe in 2021.

The Clean Energy theme was up 2.63% on our screener last week, ranking the theme the eighth-highest climber over the last seven days to 16 April’s close.

Capital on Tap

London-based fintech start-up Capital on Tap provides an online service through which small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can easily and quickly obtain business credit cards and loans. Last September, the challenger bank announced it had provided £2bn of funding to over 120,000 SMEs across the UK. The company, whose backers include Citigroup [C], M&G Investments, Pollen Street Capital and Triple Point, has raised £164m in investment, including £140m of debt in 2018, reports Skingle.

Founded in 2012 and recognised by Forbes as one of the UK’s fastest-growing companies, Capital on Tap has recently staged a successful launch in Spain. Last month, the start-up revealed the launch of a business credit card in the US in partnership with Utah-based WebBank, as it aims to support 10,000 US SMEs in its first year.

The Fintech theme, which includes Square [SQ], Afterpay [APT] and PayPal [PYPL] among its constituents, climbed 1.29% on our performance screener last week, and is up 7.01% over the month to 16 April’s close.