20 Most Successful UK Startups

Oxford Street, United Kingdom by Sabrina Mazzeo on Unsplash

20 Most Successful UK Startups

The United Kingdom (UK), while it’s a major global power, may not be the first country that comes to mind when you think of the most successful startups. However, it might be time to rid of this somewhat biased notion.

While China, Japan, and the USA may dominate the headlines with their giant corporations with sky-high valuations, the UK has quietly been building a thriving startup scene of its own. And it’s not just a matter of just the quantity of startups in The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. 

The startup scene in the UK has given rise to some of the largest names in a variety of fields, from groundbreaking biotech startups to finance giants. So, join us, and let’s take a deep dive into 20 of the most successful startups in the UK.

Visit our list of the 20 most successful startups of all time here!

1. Revolut

Logo Revolut by Revolut – Wikimedia Commons

Revolut is a fintech company that’s shaking things up in the world of banking. It was founded in 2015 by Vlad Storonsky and Nikolay Yatsenko. With headquarters in London, the city that never sleeps (or stops innovating!), Revolut offers a range of services, from foreign currency exchange to cryptocurrency trading.

The firm was profitable in November 2020 and had a valuation of £4.2 billion, making it the most valuable fintech business in the UK. Are you aware that Revolut has over 16 million customers in more than 30 countries? That’s a lot of happy customers!

2. Deliveroo Holdings PLC

Deliveroo cyclist in London, UK. by Môsieur J. – Wikimedia Commons

Deliveroo is the food-delivery superhero that’s swooping in to save us all from bland meals and hangry tantrums. It was founded in 2013 by Will Shu and Greg Orlowski, two guys who realized that good food should never be out of reach.

Deliveroo is headquartered in London, England, UK. It provides a variety of services that make eating as easy as clicking a button. Deliveroo has become the go-to service for anyone craving top-quality meals from their favorite restaurants.

And did you know that Deliveroo has become so successful that it’s even launched its restaurant brands? They run through subsidiary operations including Deliveroo Editions, which prepares meals just for delivery, and Deliveroo HOP, which just delivers on-demand groceries. Deliveroo has operations also in Qatar, Hong Kong, The United Arab Emirates, Italy, Singapore, Belgium, Ireland, Kuwait, and  France.

Discover some other food-industry startups here!

3. Monzo Bank Ltd

The original design for the hot coral-colored current account cards by Monzo Bank Limited (Hugo Cornejo) – Wikimedia Commons

Looking for a bank that won’t bore you to tears? Say hello to Monzo! Founded in 2015 by Tom Blomfield and friends, this fintech startup has its headquarters in London and is revolutionizing the way we bank.

Monzo is transforming the banking industry with its easy-to-use app and variety of features making managing your money as easy as ABC! Its UK banking license limitations were lifted in April 2017, allowing it to provide a complete current account.

Monzo was originally called Mondo but had to change its name due to a trademark dispute. But that didn’t stop this plucky startup from becoming a success. As of July 2022, Monzo had over 5.8 million customers across Europe.

4. Wise

Wise is a UK-based foreign exchange financial technology firm launched in January 2011 by Estonian businessmen Kristo Käärmann and Taavet Hinrikus. Headquartered in London, Wise offers international money transfers at low cost and high speed, making it “money without borders.” It was formerly known as TransferWise.

The name change reflects the company’s mission of being wise with money like “no hidden charges”. In 2021, Wise went public through a direct listing, making its founders billionaires overnight. With slogans like “money without borders” and “no more hidden charges,” Wise has become a favorite among globetrotters and savvy financial consumers alike.

5. Funding Circle

The logo of Funding Circle by Unknown Author – Wikimedia Commons

Funding Circle is the matchmaker for small businesses and investors. It was founded in August 2010 by Samir Desai, James Meekings, and Andrew Mullinger. The firm has developed into a worldwide platform, with its headquarters in London, England, and operations in the United States, Germany, and the Netherlands.

Its clever algorithm connects businesses in need of funding with investors who are looking for returns, providing a win-win situation. Did you know that Funding Circle was the first peer-to-peer lending platform to launch in the UK and was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2018? With its mission to help small businesses thrive, Funding Circle is truly changing the financial landscape one loan at a time.

6. Farfetch

Bus with a Farfetch logo on it by Sunmy Ronbertoom – Wikimedia Commons

Farfetch is a high-end fashion hub for the chic and fabulous. It is a luxury fashion and technology company founded in June 2007 by Portuguese entrepreneur Jose Neves.

Although it has offices in many other nations, its main office is in London, England, UK. The platform connects customers with over 1,300 luxury fashion boutiques and brands worldwide, offering an unrivalled shopping experience.

The E-commerce firm has local-language websites and mobile apps for worldwide regions. Over 10 million people use Farfetch’s website each month, and it ships to consumers in nearly 190 nations. No wonder it’s a thriving startup!

7. Babylon Health

Babylon Health is a digital health startup that was founded in 2013 by Ali Pursa. The startup blends an artificial intelligence-powered platform with virtual clinical operations for patients. It provides an AI-based health consultation service through a mobile app.

The company’s headquarters are in London, England, UK, and it has operations across the world, including in Rwanda, the United States, and Canada. According to a 2018 test, the company’s AI chatbot was able to diagnose a simulated patient’s condition more accurately than human doctors.

8. ASOS

Isabel Lucas at an ASOS event (see logos behind her) by Eva Rinaldi – Wikimedia Commons

ASOS is a British online fashion retailer that was founded in 2000 by Nick Robertson, Andrew Regan, Deborah Thorpe, and Quentin Griffiths. The company’s name stands for “As Seen On Screen”, reflecting its origins as a platform for selling celebrity-inspired fashion.

ASOS has rapidly grown since it was started and currently, it offers a wide range of clothing, accessories, and beauty products for men and women. ASOS headquarters are located in London, England but it operates in over 200 countries worldwide.

ASOS generated a revenue of over 4 billion euros in 2020, making it one of the largest online fashion retailers in the world. Its young and trendy customer base is reflected in its snappy slogan, “Fashion With Integrity.”

9. Cazoo

Aston Villa player TYronMings in Aston villa kit that has the Cazoo Logo

Cazoo, the online used car retailer, was founded in 2018 by Alex Chesterman, who also co-founded Zoopla. It provides a selection of vehicles that have been properly tested and come with a seven-day money-back guarantee.

The firm is headquartered in London, England.  The name “Cazoo” was chosen as a fun and memorable name for the company, with the “Caz” representing cars and “oo” adding a playful touch.

Cazoo has quickly become a successful startup, with its user-friendly platform and wide selection of high-quality used cars. If you watch the English Premier League, you will recognize them as Aston Villa’s shirt sponsor.

10. Gousto

Gousto’s logo by Gousto – Wikimedia Commons

Gousto is the trade name for SCA Investments. If you’re tired of cooking the same old boring meals and eating like a caveman, then Gousto is here to save the day! Founded in 2012 by Timo Boldt and James Carter, this meal kit delivery service has quickly become a household name in the UK.

The firm has its headquarters in London, England, UK. It supplies subscribers with recipe kit boxes which ready-measured, fresh ingredients and easily followed recipes. The easy-to-follow recipes make cooking seem a breeze regardless of one’s level of skill. In the 2015 Startups Awards, the business was named Retail Business of the Year.

11. Onfido

Onfido, the identity verification company, is like the bouncer of the internet – ensuring only the good guys get in. It was founded in July 2012 by three former Oxford University students: Husayn Kassai, Eamon Jubbawy, and Ruhul Amin.

It assists companies in verifying individuals’ identities by utilizing a photo-based identity document, a selfie, and artificial intelligence algorithms. Onfido’s headquarters are located in London, England. It was named one of the UK’s fastest-growing tech companies in 2019.

12. Starling Bank

Updated Starling Bank Logo by Starling Bank Ltd – Wikimedia Commons

Starling Bank is a digital challenger bank that offers current and business bank accounts in the United Kingdom. Founded in 2014 by Anne Boden, the company has quickly become a disruptive force in the traditional banking industry. Its headquarters are in London, England, United Kingdom.

Using its mobile app, the bank provides a variety of personal and business banking services, including Euro accounts, joint accounts, business accounts, and personal current accounts. Starling Bank was the first UK bank to launch a mobile-only current account.

That’s right, they were the trailblazers that made mobile banking a mainstream thing. Starling Bank is changing the way we interact with our money and proving that banking doesn’t have to be boring.

13. Tractable

Tractable was founded in 2014 by Alex Dalyac, Razvan Ranca, and Adrien Cohen. Based in London, England, Tractable uses the power of AI to revolutionize the insurance industry.

Tractable is a technology firm that creates Artificial Intelligence (AI) to analyse property and automobile damage. It helps insurers to assess damage to vehicles and properties through the AI’s vision technology and deep learning in a fraction of the time it would take for a human to do so.

The AI only accesses damage that is only visible on images and ignores what is not apparent (such as internal damage to a vehicle). CB Insights listed Tractable as one of the top 100 AI firms in the world in 2020 and 2021.

14. Darktrace

Darktrace is the company that keeps hackers up at night and security teams on their toes. It was founded through cooperation between British intelligence agencies and Mike Lynch’s business, Invoke Capital.

The firm specializes in cyber defense and employs Artificial Intelligence to detect and respond to cyber-attacks in real time. This game-changing security approach has earned it a spot among the top cybersecurity companies in the world. With headquarters in London, San Francisco, and Singapore, they’re spreading their security blanket far and wide.

15. Improbable World Limited

Virtual reality gear by Minh Pham on Unsplash

Improbable is a game-changing tech company proving that success is indeed probable. The company was founded in 2012 by Herman Narula, Peter Lipka, and Rob Whitehead.

Based in London, England, It creates virtual worlds that are so realistic, you might just forget you’re not actually in them! Its SpatialOS platform is responsible for seamless virtual worlds. Game developers and other industries utilize the SpatialOS to construct complex simulations of everything from cities to combat scenarios.

The company’s unique approach to simulation technology has already earned it a spot-on Forbes’ Next Billion-Dollar Startups list.

16. Zopa

Zopa’s logo by Zopa – Wikimedia Commons

Zopa is not your typical loan shark unless sharks started using complex algorithms and innovative financial technology. It was founded in March 2005 by Richard Duvall, James Alexander, Giles Andrews, David Nicholson, and Tim Parlett as the world’s first peer-to-peer lending company.

Today, Zopa offers deposit accounts, personal loans, and credit cards and is headquartered in London, England. Zopa stands for “Zone of Possible Agreement,” which perfectly captures the company’s ethos of bringing people together for mutual benefit. With over £5 billion lent out to date, it’s clear that Zopa is making waves in the financial world, leaving traditional banks in its wake.

17. Freetrade

Freetrade was founded in 2018 by Adam Dodds and Davide Fioranelli. It is a mobile app that allows one to invest in stocks and ETFs commission-free. The mobile app is supported by Android and iOS platforms which are easy to access and mostly used in the world. 

Freetrade offers no monthly cost, and customers have access to around 1,500 equities and ETFs. It’s no wonder Freetrade has become a successful startup, with over 600,000 users and counting!

18. OakNorth

Rishi Khosla, CEO and co-founder of OakNorth Bank (mentioned below) by ValK1990 – Wikimedia Commons

OakNorth Bank was founded in 2015 by Rishi Khosla and Joel Perlman. Based in London with offices around the world, OakNorth provides a cloud-based platform that enables lenders to provide more personalized and flexible loans to SMEs.

The company uses its own AI and machine learning tech to assess a business’s creditworthiness and can often provide loans faster and more accurately than traditional lenders.

Did you know OakNorth’s platform is built on Google Cloud, and the company became profitable just two years after launch? The company has also attracted significant investment from big-name players like SoftBank and GIC.

19. Graphcore

Exterior view of GraphCore offices (company name on doors) by BrokenSegue – Wikimedia Commons

Graphcore was founded by Nigel Toon and Simon Knowles in 2016. Headquartered in Bristol, Graphcore develops accelerators and software for AI applications. Did you know that Graphcore’s IPU is the first-ever processor to be designed specifically for AI workloads?

Graphcore’s IPU, or the Intelligence Processing Unit, is a high-performance computing chip that enables machine learning at unprecedented speed and accuracy. It’s no surprise that big-name customers like Microsoft, Dell, and Samsung are among their clients.

20. Brewdog

BrewDog’s Hardcore IPA (see the company logo on the sticker) by GioNakked – Wikipedia

Brewdog is the badass craft beer brand that’s taking the world by storm! It was founded in 2007 by James Watt and Martin Dickie, in Scotland. It is headquartered in Ellon, Scotland with locations all over the world.

Brewdog’s mission is to make other beers seem “bland and boring” by crafting bold, flavorful beers that pack a serious punch. With names like “Punk IPA” and “Hazy Jane,” their brews are not for the faint of heart. But that’s not all they are known for. They’ve planted thousands of trees, launched a beer-themed hotel, and even created a beer for dogs (yes, really).

These 20 tech startups in the UK have shown us that innovation is not limited to Silicon Valley. However keep in mind that the booming business sector in the UK is much larger than what is shown on this list.Keep an eye on the UK because the next big thing is coming, whether you’re an aspiring businessperson or just an inquisitive tech fan.