The boss of Europe’s leading venture capital fund noted that the fintech market is starting to recover after it suffered many setbacks and lost strength in 2020 and 2021, Tech.eu reported.

Fintech valuations boomed in 2020 and 2021, but are now recovering amid a tightening of capital investment.

Augmentum, which backs UK challenger bank Monese, UK SME lender Iwoca and German technology rental platform Grover, said the value of its top 10 investments rose from £182m to £199m in the six months to the end of September.

Tim Levene, chief executive of Augmentum Fintech, said Augmentum had not invested in new start-ups during the period as the cost of investment was too high.

Augmentum increased its investment in Zopa, raising its stake from £30 million to £34 million,
and in Tide, from £36 million to £41 million. However, the value of its stake in Grover was reduced from £43 million to £41 million.

Augmentum’s Chairman, Levene, noted that the company refrained from making new investments in startups during the period due to elevated pricing.

He characterized 2023 as a “tale of two halves,” with the first half experiencing lower deal activity, but the second half witnessing an uptick with the emergence of higher-quality companies in the market.

Levene painted a cautiously upbeat picture moving forward but said that 2024 and 2025 could be “really strong vintages” for venture funds that get it right.