London venture capital firm Beringea heads up north with £9m fintech injection

London-based venture capital firm Beringea has expanded its UK presence with an office based in Manchester, the firm will announce today.

It has also led a £9m fundraising round in Mancunian fintech firm Accesspay, which it said was one of the region’s largest fintech rounds to date.

Based in the northern city centre's St Peter's Square, Beringea will use the hub to operate more closely with startups in the region and effectively distribute capital.

“Manchester has an exceptional and rapidly growing fintech sector that we want to support," said Marc Shirman, investment director at Beringea and head of the new northern office.

“Great companies like Accesspay contribute immensely to the ambition of the north to be a global tech hub. Beringea will seek to provide the capital, expertise and transatlantic network to support the north’s entrepreneurs as they scale to become international success stories.”

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The venture capital firm, which has previously backed the likes of luxury jewellery brand Monica Vinader and men’s fashion tech startup Thread, currently manages more than $500m (£435.9m) in funds across the UK and the US.

Founded in 2012, Accesspay’s platform provides security and cost-efficiency to corporate finance systems. It has more than 500 clients on its roster, including Barclays Bank, the AA and ITV. The funding will be used to expand its headcount.