- British payments startup SumUp has raised 285 million euros ($306.6 million) in an investment led by Sixth Street Growth and Bain Capital Tech Opportunities.
- SumUp Chief Financial Officer Hermione McKee said the fresh capital gives the company “more firepower to act on opportunities” including acquisitions and new country launches.
- SumUp confirmed the company is worth more than it was when it raised 590 million euros ($635.3 million) at an 8 billion euro ($8.6 billion) valuation in summer 2022.
British payments startup SumUp has successfully secured €285 million ($306.6 million) in its latest funding round, led by Sixth Street Growth, the growth arm of global investment firm Sixth Street. This round values SumUp at over $8.6 billion, further building on its valuation from the summer of 2022 when it was last valued at €8 billion ($8.6 billion). The company’s existing investors, including Bain Capital Tech Opportunities, Fin Capital, and Liquidity Group, also participated in the funding round.
SumUp, widely recognized for its small card readers, plans to utilize the fresh capital to pursue various growth opportunities over the next two years. The company has been on an expansion spree, recently entering its 36th market globally with the launch in Australia. SumUp’s CFO, Hermione McKee, emphasized the potential for further expansion in Latin America, Asia, and Africa, and hinted at exploring a “buy versus build” strategy.
This funding round is considered a significant achievement, especially in the context of the challenging environment for European technology valuations. The company’s ability to secure an “up round,” where the valuation is higher than before, stands out amid declining median valuations in the European tech sector.
SumUp, a direct competitor to prominent payment companies like Square, PayPal’s iZettle, FIS’ WorldPay, Stripe, and Adyen, has diversified its business offerings. In addition to its core payment services, SumUp has entered the lending space, providing cash advances and business loans to merchants based on their card sales revenues. The company also introduced new point-of-sale offerings, including self-service kiosks and upgraded systems like POS Lite and POS Pros.
SumUp’s CFO highlighted the success of its lending products, indicating that the vast majority of merchants are repaying in a timely manner. The company aims to further enhance its point-of-sale systems, recently launching Apple’s Tap to Pay feature in the U.K. and the Netherlands.
Looking ahead, SumUp plans to explore merger and acquisition opportunities to fuel its global expansion. McKee stated that M&A is always on the table, and the company is open to both building an ecosystem and making strategic acquisitions.
Despite its remarkable growth and valuation, SumUp currently has no immediate plans to go public. McKee emphasized the company’s access to private pools of capital and stated that while they are constantly improving processes to meet public market standards, an IPO is not imminent or actively planned at this time. SumUp intends to leverage its current funding to maintain flexibility and capitalize on growth opportunities in the private markets.