Fintech Noggin HQ raises £2.3m led by Blackfinch Ventures and Oxford Capital
This article covers Noggin HQ, a Newcastle-based fintech startup, which has closed a £2.3m seed funding round and received credit referencing authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority. The development aims to enable the startup to supply permissioned banking transaction data and roll out cashflow-based alternative credit scoring to FCA-authorised lenders, widening access to credit for people with thin, fragmented or out of date credit histories.
Newcastle-based fintech startup Noggin HQ has closed a £2.3m seed funding round to roll out its cashflow-based alternative credit scoring to UK lenders, following receipt of credit referencing authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority. The capital and the licence together let Noggin supply permissioned banking transaction data to FCA-authorised lenders — potentially widening access to credit for people whose credit histories are thin, fragmented or out of date.
Why it matters
Around 3.2 million UK adults were declined credit in the two years to May 2024. Noggin HQ’s approach uses permissioned bank transaction data to create a cashflow-based view of affordability, rather than relying solely on traditional credit-file signals. The company is also one of only a handful to obtain a licence to operate as a credit reference agency in the UK in the last 10 years, a regulatory milestone that matters for any firm trying to change core credit infrastructure.
Inside the product
Noggin analyses permissioned banking transaction data to generate indicators of real-time affordability and repayment capacity. That data is intended for use by FCA-authorised lenders at the point of decisioning, helping identify creditworthy customers who are missed by conventional scoring — for example people with short UK credit histories, limited formal borrowing, or significant time spent living abroad.
The startup has completed pilots with lenders and plans to use the new funding to shift from pilot stage into wider market adoption. The product sits within the growing set of open-banking use cases that aim to provide lenders with more current, cashflow-informed inputs for underwriting.
Who are the investors?
The round was led by Blackfinch Ventures and included continued participation from Oxford Capital and Bethnal Green Ventures, alongside several domain-specific angel investors such as Alastair Douglas, the former CEO of TotallyMoney. Noggin previously raised £710,000 in a pre-seed round led by Oxford Capital, with Bethnal Green Ventures also participating.
Investors point to both market need and regulatory progress as the rationale for backing Noggin. Bethnal Green Ventures first backed the company through its accelerator programme in 2021; Oxford Capital and Blackfinch cited early lender engagement as validation that demand exists for more up-to-date, data-led decisioning.
In the announcement, Alastair Douglas, angel investor and former CEO of TotallyMoney, said:
Credit scoring is broken because it only looks backwards, judging people on a patchy record of their past, held in a system built to keep data in the hands of companies, not the people it belongs to.
Open banking turns that on its head: real-time data that shows what someone can actually afford today, making decisions quicker, fairer and more accurate. That’s why I’ve backed Noggin. Eva and Laura are proving you can build a great business and make credit work better for lenders and customers at the same time.
In the announcement, David Mott, founder partner at Oxford Capital, said:
Noggin HQ is tackling a large and persistent problem in consumer credit: too many people are judged on incomplete or outdated data.
Its credit reference agency authorisation is an important milestone, and the strength of its early lender engagement shows there is clear demand for more accurate, data-led decisioning.
We believe Eva, Laura and the team have the potential to build a category-defining credit infrastructure business from the North East.
In the announcement, Hugh Bartlett, principal at Blackfinch Ventures, said:
At Blackfinch Ventures, we look for businesses using technology to solve real, persistent problems, and Noggin is a strong example of that.
Its approach helps credit assessment evolve beyond traditional models by using richer, more up-to-date data to build a clearer picture of borrowers.
We believe that Noggin’s solution can help lenders make more informed decisions while widening access for people who may be overlooked by existing approaches.
In the announcement, Paul Miller, managing director at Bethnal Green Ventures, said:
We are very happy to be part of Noggin HQ’s fundraising round. We originally invested in the company through our accelerator programme in 2021.
Eva and Laura are great representatives of a new generation of female founders who are looking to deliver positive social impact as they grow their business.
If you're researching potential backers in this space:
- Explore our list of fintech venture capital firms in the UK
- Browse our directory of fintech angel investors in the UK
Founder perspective
Noggin HQ was founded by childhood friends Evangeline Atkinson and Laura Mills after both were declined for credit despite steady employment and regular bill payments. The founders say that experience exposed how people with thin credit files or time spent abroad can be treated as higher risk even when their bank data indicates affordability.
In the announcement, Evangeline Atkinson, co-founder at Noggin HQ, said:
The UK credit market has changed. Consumers earn, spend and borrow in more complex ways than ever before, but much of the credit referencing infrastructure still reflects an older economy,
Now that we’re an authorised credit reference agency, we’re energised to be supporting more nuanced credit checks for the consumers the system has historically underserved.
The bigger picture
Noggin’s funding and FCA authorisation arrive at a time when open-banking-enabled underwriting is gaining traction among lenders looking to reduce default risk and expand access. For fintech investors, this deal underlines appetite for businesses that combine regulatory permission with data-driven products.
If Noggin can translate pilot traction into recurring contracts with lenders, it would add to infrastructure choices available to the UK consumer-credit market and could nudge established players to incorporate cashflow signals. The development also highlights activity beyond London: investors explicitly referenced the North East as a base for building infrastructure businesses.
As UK regulators continue to open pathways for alternative data use, and with similar debates playing out across Europe, Noggin’s progress will be one to watch for lenders, fintech investors, and policymakers focused on fairer consumer credit outcomes.
They've invested in Noggin HQ
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