Barclays throws its weight behind fast-growing London wealthtech

By Lars Mucklejohn

London-based fintech Wealthos has raised £4m in an investment led by Barclays as part of its goals to scale up to meet the growing demand for its products.

The firm, which offers software for companies providing digital wealth management products, said it would use the money to “further develop its platform, increase distribution and scale the organisation to support its strong client pipeline”.

The seed funding round included £2m already raised with Barclays and other fintech investors such as Chris Adelsbach and Mike O’Brien in late 2023.

The additional £2m was invested by Main Set, which is part of international investment firm Capricorn Capital Partners UK.

Wealthos’ founder and chief executive Anton Padmasiri said: “I am excited to demonstrate to the market how we will not only enable organisations to offer incredible, omni-channel wealth management products to clients, but to do so at high speed and with cost efficiency.”

Its latest investment comes after fellow wealthtech Quai Digital chose Wealthos as a strategic technology partner in February.

Wealthos, which was founded in 2019, previously raised $800,000 in seed funding in 2021.

“Wealthos has an impressive proposition in the digital, wealth management space”, said Andrew Challis, co-head of principal investments at Barclays. “They are a talented team and have leveraged the investment to achieve early commercial success.”

Fintech firms are holding out hope for a rebound in funding this year after a torrid 2023 that saw investment in the sector drop more than a third from the previous year, according to KPMG.

Recent deals include London-based insurtech Vitesse last month securing $93m (£73.2m) in new funding to support its expansion in the US.

Fintech valuations broadly peaked in 2021, with the sector since struggling with interest rate hikes and higher funding costs that have stymied investment.