Monzo co-founders invest in Fronted

Ellie Duncan
13 May 2021

The co-founders of UK-based challenger bank Monzo have participated in rental deposit fintech Fronted’s latest funding round to raise more than £1 million in a debt and equity deal. 

Paul Rippon and Gary Dolman, who were the deputy-CEO and CFO of Monzo, were joined by other investors, including Baroness Kingsmil, the former chair of Monzo, founder of Slush Conference Ville Vesterinen and Ling Lin, ex-product and international expansion at TransferWise. 

In a blog post, Fronted co-founder Jamie Campbell said that Dolman will join its advisory board following his participation in the round. 

The proceeds raised will be used by Fronted for its deposit loan business and will also help the business to establish strategic partnerships. 

Dolman, a venture investor at Antler VC, said: “Fronted’s offering is highly differentiated and equally attractive to their customers and to me as an investor. Their focus, business model and prospects are exciting and I am delighted to join Fronted’s advisory board.” 

Rippon, chairman of GBB, added: “Home is where the heart is and I know as a landlord and former tenant that deposits can be difficult to pull together.  

“That real problem needs solving and the Fronted team are doing that in a caring way using interesting modern technology.” 

The latest fundraising brings Fronted’s total funding amount to £2 million. 

Campbell said: “If you are following our story, you’ll know that Fronted is going up against the deposit alternatives which use an insurance-based model to remove the cash deposit entirely, meaning customers don’t have a deposit protected in a Deposit Protection Scheme.  

“Fronted aims to solve the same problem, but allowing a customer to pay their deposit over 12 months, not all up front.”