Rising Tide nears $1bn valuation with new share sale

Tide, the business banking services platform, is closing in on a share sale that will put it within touching distance of becoming the latest British fintech to attain a $1bn valuation.

Sky News has learnt that Tide, which is chaired by the City grandee Sir Donald Brydon, is arranging the sale of a chunk of existing shares at a roughly 30% premium to its most recent funding round in 2021.

Sources said the secondary share sale was at an advanced stage and could be finalised imminently.

Tide, which launched in 2015, has amassed 575,000 small and medium-sized business customers, with a further 200,000 in India.

Tide is not itself a bank but partners with Clearbank, a third party, to offer business banking services, such as invoicing, accounting and expenses systems.

Its significantly increased valuation is notable because it comes during a period when many technology businesses are either struggling to raise new funding or having to do so at sharply reduced valuations.

The company’s existing shareholders include Apax Digital Fund, which insiders said had been keen to increase its stake.

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Other prominent backers include Augmentum, the London-listed fintech investor.

Roughly 10% of Tide’s equity is thought to be changing hands as part of the deal, enabling a number of early investors to cash out.

Tide declined to comment on Friday.