Starling hires new bankers as it hunts for £200m in fresh cash

British fintech Starling has hired bankers at Rothschild for a £200m funding round, just months after having secured £100m in cash.

The Monzo-rival is understood to be planning the round to secure funds for its marketing budget and to help drive international expansion.

It has previously been advised by JP Morgan on funding rounds. Sources suggested the hiring of fresh advisers followed previous failed attempts to unlock a new investor. 

JP Morgan, Rothschild and Starling declined to comment. The planned round was first reported by TechCrunch. 

Starling last raised cash in May, securing £40m from existing investors including Merian and JTC. Before that, it had brought in £60m in a round which completed in February.

At the time, boss Anne Boden had said the "funding from our existing investors demonstrates their commitment both to Starling and to our small business and personal customers who need our support now more than ever".

She spoke of the shift to digital that had been brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, saying the bank had "seen robust customer acquisition since the lockdown", especially in its business account channel.

News of the hunt for fresh cash comes days after Ms Boden released a new book in which she detailed a row with rival banking boss Tom Blomfield.

In the book, Ms Boden had claimed that Mr Blomfield, boss of Monzo, “engineered what was nothing less than a coup” when he left Starling Bank along with around 10 other employees. 

Speaking to The Telegraph this week, Baroness Kingsmill — who left Starling along with Mr Blomfield — accused the account of being "one-sided".

She said: “In all start-ups there are strong personalities, and conflicts can emerge. It’s in the best interests of everyone to resolve these quietly."

When Starling had raised cash, Ms Boden pointed to the fact that rivals like Monzo, had seen their valuations slashed. “While other fintechs may have struggled with funding and maintaining ambitious valuations during the pandemic, our existing investors continue to support us,” she wrote.