Web platforms that connect buyers to sellers – commonly known as online marketplaces – now draw in one third of all venture-capital funding in the UK, according to figures from business intelligence specialists Mattermark and payments platform Stripe.
That’s a sharp rise on 17% in 2014 and just 8% in 2013. Indeed, some $869m flooded into the segment last year, compared with $334m in 2014 – and there are signs that this year’s funding rounds could collectively top $1bn.
Last year’s onrush of investment-funded companies across a whole range of industry sectors, from travel and tourism to financial services, with some of the top beneficiaries being:
Speaking to The Telegraph, Stripe UK head of growth James Allgrove said: “The early days of marketplaces were focused on travel – such as Airbnb and Love Home Swap – because property is a big, tangible asset with obvious benefits from bringing it onto a marketplace.
“As the sector evolves, it’s moving into other areas: logistics such as Deliveroo and Quiqup, services such as TaskRabbit and Hassle, and e-commerce with Lyst and Farfetch.”
He added: “Fintech innovation is driving developments in this space. Payments used to be a blocker for online companies, but is now a big enabler. Most marketplaces bring the whole experience onto one platform – including transactions.”
The figures arrived just two weeks after a UK Budget in which online marketplaces were cited as a potentially lucrative source of tax revenue. In his speech, chancellor George Osborne unveiled measures to secure the collection of VAT on UK-based goods sales made by foreign platforms. Under the new rules, HMRC will:
It is expected that HMRC will reserve those powers primarily for use against the worst cases of non-compliance. They will come into effect as soon as the Finance Bill 2016 is granted Royal As