Passion Capital partner Eileen Burbidge
Credit: Rii Schroer
A venture capital fund that was one of the earliest backers of online bank Monzo has raised £45m to invest in more British start-ups in a boost for the post-Brexit tech scene.
Passion Capital’s third fund has already made 11 investments according to partner Eileen Burbidge, the former chairman of Tech Nation.
The firm, which backed Monzo in its first funding round in 2015 as well as supporting the business banking app Tide a year later, is still planning to invest in financial technology companies but is not about to buy into a new challenger bank.
Ms Burbidge said: “I think it’s unlikely we’d do another banking app. There’s a lot more fintech that we would pursue in other areas, for example more on the enterprise or back-end where it’s less about apps for consumers, about more services for other fintechs or for existing financial services.”
Backers of the third Passion Capital fund include SCB 10X, a subsidiary of Siam Commercial Bank. The firm also hired former Index Ventures investor Malin Posern as a new partner last year.
Despite a slowdown in investment in the second quarter of 2020, Ms Burbidge does not believe the coronavirus pandemic has permanently harmed the UK’s technology industry.
The fundraising also suggests appetite for tech remains strong despite Britain’s departure from the European Union. She said: “Now there’s even more activity, volume and propositions than even before the pandemic.”
The firm plans to invest in start-ups that could transform other sectors in the same way that Monzo has disrupted banking. Ms Burbidge said: “Having been through the Monzo experience, we would look for other sectors that haven’t had their Monzo moment yet.”
Passion is particularly eyeing firms launched by former employees of successful British start-ups such as TransferWise, GoCardless and Starling Bank.
“You can’t really teach that experience,” Ms Burbidge said. “You have to go through it.”
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