Research & Insights
Finch Capital publishes research on critical technology for Europe's regulated industries and functions
Market Pulse
Executive Summary
May 2026 sees Payments carry FinTech with a €907M record quarter — anchored by UK card and orchestration infrastructure raises, headlined by Paymentology's €157M Apis Partners-led deal. Santander's multi-billion acquisition of TSB drives Wealth & Capital Markets to a marquee exit month, while Insurance funding craters to less than €50M and Lending & Mortgages VC funding effectively collapses (just €7M raised). The Finch Index compresses further to 2.9x EV/Rev and 10.3x EV/EBITDA.
In Business Tech, Fonoa (€94M, Headline-led) and LegalPlace (€70M, XAnge-led) skew the month toward Finance & Ops and Legal & Compliance. Sequoia's €34M French AI deal headlines IT & Data, and a16z signals US interest in European LegalTech with a 9M agentic-AI patent litigation round. The SaaSpocalypse continues to compress public-comp multiples, with most Business Tech sub-sectors converging toward 2.9x EV/Rev.
Key Takeaways
Payments Anchors a Record Quarter: UK card and orchestration infrastructure raises drive Payments to €907M for the quarter, headlined by Paymentology's €157M Apis Partners-led round.
Santander Acquires TSB: The €3.7B Wealth & Capital Markets exit is the deal of the month, signalling renewed strategic appetite for UK retail and commercial banking platforms.
Finch Index Continues to Reset: Multiples step down to 2.9x EV/Rev and 10.3x EV/EBITDA as both Business and Financial Tech compress further versus Q1.
Fonoa & LegalPlace Lead Business Tech: Fonoa (€94M, Ireland) in tax e-invoicing and LegalPlace (€70M, France) in legal SMB admin skew the month's funding toward Finance & Ops and Legal & Compliance.
Financial Tech
Payments vertical carries FinTech in May
- •€1,169M raised in Q226 across 49 deals
- •Paymentology (€157M), Primer (€86M) and Bunch (€30M) lead
- •Santander acquires TSB for €3.7B
Business Tech
Fonoa & LegalPlace skew the month
- •€772M raised in Q226 across 40 deals
- •Fonoa (€94M), LegalPlace (€70M), AI upskilling platform (€64M) lead
- •Sequoia funds €34M French AI deal in IT & Data
📊May Highlights
€1,169M
FinTech Funding Q226
66
Total Deals This Month
10.3x
Finch Index EV/EBITDA
2.9x
Finch Index EV/Rev
Finch Index Business and Financial Technology
Comparing valuation multiples against S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100
EV/Revenue
*As of 31/05/2026; median
EV/EBITDA
*As of 31/05/2026; median
The Finch Index is a proprietary benchmark designed to track the performance of our 9 Business and Financial Technology themes, serving as a relevant industry-specific valuation comparison alongside established indices such as the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ 100. The index is composed of 91 publicly traded companies, with 8 to 10 representative firms across each theme, ensuring a diversified and balanced view of market trends.
Financial Tech
Payments vertical carries FinTech in May
VC/Growth Value Evolution (€m)
*As of 31/05/2026
VC/Growth Volume this month
*As of 31/05/2026 • Total: 26 deals
Finch Index - EV/EBITDA multiple evolution
*As of 31/05/2026; median
Finch Index - EV/Rev multiple evolution
*As of 31/05/2026; median
Notable Fundraises this month
| Company | HQ | Round Size |
|---|---|---|
| Paymentology | 🇬🇧 | €157M |
| Primer | 🇬🇧 | €86M |
| Bunch | 🇩🇪 | €30M |
Notable Exits this month
| Acquirer | Acquiree | HQ | Est. Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santander | TSB | 🇬🇧 | €3.7B |
| Bullish | EQ | 🇬🇧 | €3.1B |
| TrueLayer | in3 | 🇳🇱 | Undisclosed |
Financial Technology Sector Analysis
🛡️ Insurance Technology
Insurance funding craters to less than €50M QTD — the lowest in the past five quarters. A €5M Make Your Credit-led seed in a digital insurance platform is the only notable round as larger deals stay on the sidelines.
💳 Payments
UK card and orchestration infrastructure anchors a €907M record quarter. Paymentology's €157M Apis Partners-led raise leads, supported by Primer's €86M Sofina-led payments-infra round.
🏦 Banking & Digital Currency
Stablecoin and on-chain infrastructure deals dominate a quiet €46M month — a €15M Mercury Fund-led raise into a stablecoin yield platform leads, while Bullish's €3.1B acquisition of EQ reshapes the league table.
📊 Wealth & Capital Markets
Santander's multi-billion acquisition of TSB (€3.7B) headlines the month, the largest exit of Q2. Bunch's €30M Portage-led round into AI fund-operations for private markets also stands out, and the sub-sector trades at 7.2x EV/Rev — the highest in FinTech.
🏠 Lending & Mortgages
M&A carries the vertical as VC funding collapses to €7M. Two strategic exits — an online car-finance broker and an SME lending marketplace carve-out — both at €50-150M, but no notable growth rounds closed in the month.
Business Tech
Fonoa and LegalPlace skewed the month toward Finance & Ops and Legal
VC/Growth Value Evolution (€m)
*As of 31/05/2026
VC/Growth Volume this month
*As of 31/05/2026 • Total: 40 deals
Finch Index - EV/EBITDA multiple evolution
*As of 31/05/2026; median
Finch Index - EV/Rev multiple evolution
*As of 31/05/2026; median
Notable Fundraises this month
| Company | HQ | Round Size |
|---|---|---|
| Fonoa | 🇮🇪 | €94M |
| LegalPlace | 🇫🇷 | €70M |
| Multiverse | 🇬🇧 | €64M |
Notable Exits this month
| Acquirer | Acquiree | HQ | Est. Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ramp | Debtist | 🇩🇪 | €92M |
| Coupa | Rossum | 🇨🇿 | €50-150M |
| Carta | Avantia | 🇬🇧 | €50-150M |
Business Technology Sector Analysis
👥 HR & Payroll
Schroders Capital leads a €64M round into a UK AI upskilling and apprenticeship platform. a16z backs a €21M AI expert-network play with voice-powered onboarding, while a >€300M exit of a managed payroll and outsourced-sales platform headlines the sector.
💰 Finance & Ops
Finance & Ops leads Business Tech with three €30M+ rounds. Fonoa (€94M, Headline-led) in tax automation and e-invoicing tops the table, followed by a €47M United Ventures-led raise into AI revenue-management for hospitality and a €34M Forestay-led AI procurement OS.
⚖️ Legal & Compliance
a16z signals US interest in European LegalTech with a €9M round into an agentic-AI patent and IP litigation play. LegalPlace (€70M, XAnge-led) leads the month in SMB company formation and admin, supported by a €10M Smile Sail-led KYC/AML deal.
🔧 IT & Data
Sequoia funds the headline €34M French AI deal — an enterprise back-office assistant platform — leading a quieter €175M IT & Data month focused on AI-native tooling rather than legacy infrastructure.
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Archive
Archive - Past Market Pulse Reports
Market Pulse - May 2026
Q2 2026 momentum builds across European FinTech and Business Tech as the Finch Index holds steady.
Market Pulse - April 2026
Adyen's €750M Talon.One acquisition and Ebury's €632M raise headline FinTech as Finch Index resets to 2.8x EV/Rev.
Market Pulse - March 2026
Q1 2026 FinTech hits €792M as Business Tech public comps slide amid SaaSpocalypse; Finch Index drops to 2.8x EV/Rev.