Just two figures are enough to grasp the UK’s leading position in the global fintech market. In recent years, the country has seen the creation of nearly 50 fintech unicorns, while in 2025 alone, British fintechs raised $10.96 billion, more than France, Germany, Belgium, the Nordics, Ireland, China, and Brazil combined.
Already accounting for 11% of the global fintech industry, the UK aims to fully capitalise on its strengths to become “the world’s most technologically advanced financial centre” by 2035.
As part of its “Financial Services Growth & Competitiveness Strategy 2035”, the government has set six key objectives for 2035, including “creating a competitive, stable and predictable regulatory environment” and “embracing innovation and leveraging the UK’s fintech leadership.”
London, a springboard for international expansion
Given this favourable environment for fintech, Spendesk’s decision to invest heavily in the UK was almost self-evident. The French unicorn opened its first international office in London in August 2020, before moving to new premises in Shoreditch in October 2025.
“The UK market is strategic for us,” explains Stéphane Dehaies, General Director of Spendesk Financial Services, adding: “today, the United Kingdom represents around 25% of our client base, with around sixty employees based locally, including our VP Marketing, our CPO and our CTO.”
Weefin, a fintech that supports financial institutions in integrating sustainability criteria into their investment strategies, reached the same conclusion. Marion Aubert, its co-founder and Chief International Officer, launched the UK subsidiary in February 2025, which already employs around twenty people. The company has even made the strategic decision to base its Chief Product Officer in London.
“London alone represents £10 trillion in assets under management. It is truly a massive market for us,” she notes. “And its international exposure is another major advantage: you find subsidiaries of Asian, Japanese, Singaporean, as well as American players.” A powerful springboard for further growth.
Moreover, being a French startup is not a barrier in the UK, quite the opposite. “Because the market is highly international, they are used to working with companies based in many different countries,” observes the Weefin co-founder. “And on sustainability, since France is recognised in this area, it is almost an advantage to say we are French and bring our best practices.”
In the current geopolitical context, Franco-British proximity is even strengthening. “The idea of building European and British leaders together works well. Being European and not relying solely on American solutions resonates strongly,” she adds.
A pro-innovation environment
London also benefits from a unique concentration of talent combining strong financial expertise rooted in the City and cutting-edge tech skills. “The talent pool in the UK is extremely strong, and the mindset is much more entrepreneurial,” confirms Marion Aubert.
Over the past six years, Spendesk has successfully leveraged this rich ecosystem to scale. “We have deployed all critical functions locally: Go-To-Market, Customer Strategy, Marketing & Communications, Product, Engineering, and AML Compliance. This operational autonomy allows us to be agile and fully aligned with the specifics of the UK market,” explains Stéphane Dehaies.
In addition, the General Director of Spendesk Financial Services highlights the maturity of the ecosystem and its use cases. “The UK benefits from advanced financial infrastructure, with mature regulation and sophisticated payment systems that facilitate innovation,” he says. “This maturity allows fintechs to test and deploy new solutions quickly before expanding them to other European markets.”
Since the mid-2010s, the rise of Open Banking in the UK has fostered an environment conducive to fintech innovation. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) was notably a pioneer with the launch in 2016 of the world’s first Regulatory Sandbox.
“The regulator works very closely with market players,” notes Marion Aubert, praising the FCA’s initiative. “Thanks to the sandbox system, fintechs can use realistic data to test new features. It is highly proactive in facilitating innovation.”
A culture of collaboration between stakeholders
Beyond structural factors, British culture itself appeals to French entrepreneurs. “What struck me most is the level of collaboration between financial institutions and technology players,” says Marion Aubert. “Large banks and financial institutions are increasingly open to external solutions and are looking at what startups can offer. It’s a major shift.”
For Stéphane Dehaies, this cultural difference is also reflected in purchasing processes: “UK companies are early adopters of SaaS solutions. We observe faster adoption cycles than in France or Germany, with questions more focused on technical integration than on justifying the need for change.”
Professional associations also play a structuring role in fostering this collaborative and innovation-driven mindset. “For example, we are members of Innovate Finance, which brings together most fintech startups, and UKSIF, the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association. There is a lot of knowledge-sharing and exchange of expertise,” explains Marion Aubert.
More broadly, it is the entire UK tech ecosystem that is driving this momentum: “The environment is very dynamic, with a large number of events, both through the British Embassy and its partners, the French Tech community, as well as local associations such as the Investment Association,” she adds.
A market with significant untapped potential
For Spendesk, the UK market still has considerable room for growth, even after six years of presence. “There are more than 100,000 SMEs and mid-sized companies that could benefit from a solution like Spendesk,” estimates Stéphane Dehaies. The unicorn has also announced the launch of Spendesk Travel and continues to roll out its strategic partnership with Wise Platform, enabling international payments in 30 currencies.
At Weefin, ambitions are equally clear: “We are continuing to grow in the UK and working closely with local players to build our platform’s features, such as our ‘Methodology Lab’ and our artificial intelligence capabilities,” explains Marion Aubert.
With 76,500 employees in the fintech sector, 42% of whom come from abroad, the United Kingdom more than ever confirms its status as a preferred destination for fintech talent and innovative companies.
The country has also recently launched the Office for Investment: Financial Services, a dedicated concierge service offering tailored support on regulation, visas, skills, taxation and planning for international businesses, yet another asset to support the growth of fintechs on UK soil.
The Commercial Section of the British Embassy in Paris supports French companies in their expansion projects. Click here to find out more.
Source link
