Monzo ends difficult year with £125m investment

Monzo raised £60 million during its latest funding round, strongly finishing what has been a difficult year for the UK-based challenger bank.

The firm received £65 million in July and this latest funding top-up takes its total investment for the year to £125 million, according to TechCrunch.

The new funding comes from a new cohort of backers, such as Deliveroo investor Novator, Kaiser and TED Global. Monzo is currently valued at around £1.2 billion, which is somewhat lower than pre-pandemic estimates.

However, the new cash injection means the bank has ended 2020 in good health, despite the effect the pandemic has had on its business. The financial boost will no doubt change the mood, both internally and externally, for a company that sent warning signals out over the summer.

"We've raised £125 million this year, achieved strong organic growth and are now nearing five million customers, all while becoming the most switched to bank in the UK and the top-rated for overall service," Monzo CEO TS Anil said in a statement to TechCrunch. "This news demonstrates the confidence that both our customers and investors have in Monzo".

The firm has almost five million customers and around 60,000 business users after adding 35,000 more since June. Its recently launched paid-for current accounts, Monzo Plus and Monzo Premium, have more than 100,000 customers combined.

The bank had to scrap plans to hire 500 new workers as the coronavirus impacted its operation and it actually ended up cutting around 8% of its workforce in July.

The firm's future was later called into question after it reported that its losses had more than doubled due to the outbreak. It announced post-tax losses of £133.8 million in its 2020 earnings report, up from £47.1 million the previous year.