Starling Bank is about to raise £200m in funding round

Some of the UK’s most important fintech start-up players – Starling Bank, Curve and GoCardless are set to raise more money.

According to ‘well-placed sources’, Starling has hired independent financial advisor Rothschild Co. with the aim of raising a new £200 million round, TechCrunch reported.

Read also: HSBC is set to launch rival product to TransferWise

Until now, Starling has raised £363m, including a £100m grant from the RBS competition fund.

Starling has about 1.9 million customers – 280,000 of which are business accounts held by sole traders and small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with women filling 40% of the senior roles in the company.

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Boden has also told TechCrunch that her ultimate aim is to get to an initial public offering. “I didn’t do all this to sell out to a big bank,” she told me. “I’ve got my sights on an IPO. I’d very much like to do that”.

In a recent interview for Guardian, Boden happily admits her work takes up her whole life. “People talk about ‘work-life balance’,” she says. “I only have work – and I enjoy every minute of it.” She doesn’t cook (“I have no interest whatsoever”) and hasn’t married (“one of these days, I’ll write a book about men and dating!”). She has no children. “I never decided not to have children; as with many people, it just didn’t happen,” she says.

“I think it’s important to focus on what you have rather than what you don’t. I’ve had a great career. I’ve done lots of stuff. I’m proud of what we’ve built. I wish I could help more women understand that you don’t have to conform to the stereotype to be happy, to be successful. But I’ve been extremely lucky. I had a childhood that was loving and supportive, but with no pressure to be anyone different.”