Starling Bank confirms £272 million in new funding, claims unicorn status.

The UK has a new darling in Starling. The digital bank has confirmed its Series D round funding totalling a healthy £272 million, their largest ever.

Led by Fidelity Management and Research the round was oversubscribed by £72 million, and now gives the company at £1.1 billion pre-money valuation. Rothschild acted as the exclusive financial adviser on the deal, with Norton Rose Fulbright providing legal advice.

Qatar Investment Authority, RPMI Railpen (managers of the £31 billion Railways Pension Scheme), and hedge fund Millennium Management have jumped on board with this round of funding.

“Our new investors will bring a wealth of experience as we enter the next stage of growth, while the continued support of our existing backers represents a huge vote of confidence,” comments Starling’s founder and CEO Anne Boden.

These aforementioned investors include (but are not limited to) the JTC Group, Merian Chrysalis, and Merian Global Investors.

The fresh round of funding is expected to promote further expansion into the UK market, as well as propel the bank onto continental shores.

Initially established in 2014 by former Allied Irish Banks COO Anne Boden, and officially launched in 2017, Starling now counts over 2 million accounts under management, including 300,000 small business accounts.

The bank is reporting its fourth consecutive profitable month, which would put it on track to report its first full year of only black on the books.

Not that Starling has the luxury of having no rivals; it faces stiff competition from the likes of Revolut, Monzo, Atom Bank and OakNorth Bank, to name but a few.