Should we be getting our apartments ready for high level investors from Silicon Valley? If recent headlines are anything to go by, London’s technology companies are firm favourites with investors from the Californian tech haven.
We’ve read a lot about how popular FinTech is right now. One firm has just secured a $100m investment from a company in Silicon Valley. The backing is from the same investors, TCV and Accel, who were the early ones to spot the promise in Facebook and Spotify. The latest investment means WorldRemit is now valued at $500m.
It comes hot on the heels of the valuation of TransferWise which has topped $1bn after its latest series of investments. It goes to show how popular, ambitious and how much interest there is in London technology community.
That is certainly what Mayor of London Boris Johnson was set on selling when he took a team of tech firms to New York to woo investors earlier this month. Bridging the Atlantic gap the Mayor was selling expertise, start-up capability, investment opportunity and of course the rest of London when he visited the Big Apple.
US investment in the technology sector has rapidly increased over the last year reaching $795m. It shows that London isn’t just seen as place to do business around the world, but that it’s seen as a place where there are great ideas. Investors are keen to not miss the boat and when they see an emerging firm clearly doing well and creating a great buzz they want to be part of it.
Silicon Valley is a name synonymous with technology innovation so when they begin to show confidence in London companies it makes the rest of the world sit up and take notice. London is fast being seen as a tech location, for homegrown start-ups as well as global giants that have set up shop in the capital.
The capital is just so easy to get to for international investors as well. The City is a great stop off for those in finance who fly in from either Heathrow or Gatwick. It’s easy for them to travel across the capital to visit tech cluster after tech cluster and find out which are the top performing companies that they want to get involved in at the ground floor.
The news is great for the rest of the London economy as well. Different industries within the capital will become high profile from time to time and attract overseas investors. The best thing is for those investors to come and see for themselves what’s happening and then spend money in the capital. It helps to raise the profile of London as a place to come and do business, to find talent and great ideas, which benefits everyone who does business here already.
So if you are coming to the capital to find the next best tech company that’s going to make you millions, remember we do serviced apartments across London especially for extended stay guests, because you don’t know how long it might take to find the investment that’s right for you!