Finch Capital

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    Finch Capital publishes research on critical technology for Europe's regulated industries and functions

    Market Pulse

    September 2026Latest

    September 2026 Edition

    Executive Summary

    European Pulse-sector funding rebounded in September, up 4.3x to €1,790m across 145 rounds (August restated: €412m / 78 rounds) — the strongest month since Jun-26 and above the LTM monthly average of €1,571m. Cap Markets & DA raised €1,079m, led by two wealth deals worth €862m: International Wealth Group's €474m first round and FNZ's €388m from La Caisse. Excluding them, the other 143 rounds raised €927m, still more than double August.

    Public comps extended the rebound. The Finch Pulse Composite added 8.3% in September while the S&P 500 (-0.4%) and STOXX Europe 600 (-2.6%) slipped, led by CFO & Workforce SW (+18.2%) and Banking & Ins. SW (+11.5%). The composite is now +20% off its Apr-26 SaaSpocalypse low, and median EV/Revenue rose in all six baskets in Q3-26, most in CFO & Workforce SW (3.3x to 4.8x); LTM the composite is still -7.5% against +11.9% for the S&P 500.

    On the exit front, Mollie closed its €1.1bn acquisition of London-based GoCardless on 1 September — more than 90% paid in Mollie shares and roughly half GoCardless's $2.1bn 2022 valuation. It is the second-largest Payments exit of the LTM window after BVNK: two scaled Payments exits in two months. Cap Markets & DA still leads on fundamentals with the highest median Rule of 40 (51) and the premium EV/Revenue multiple (6.6x).

    €1.8bn

    September Pulse funding, 145 rounds (4.3x August)

    +8.3%

    Finch Pulse Composite gain in September

    -7.5%

    Finch Pulse Composite LTM vs. +11.9% S&P 500

    €1.1bn

    Mollie's price for GoCardless

    September's Hot Topics

    Mollie closes GoCardless as Pulse-sector funding rebounds to €1.8bn

    The Macro

    Payments consolidates: Mollie completes its €1.1bn acquisition of London-based GoCardless

    Mollie closed the deal on 1 September, nine months after signing in December 2025. More than 90% of the consideration is paid in Mollie shares, and the price is roughly half the $2.1bn valuation GoCardless reached in its 2022 Series G.

    The combined group pairs Mollie's card and local payment methods with GoCardless's Pay by Bank network across 38 countries, serving 350,000+ businesses. At €1,100m in our data it is the second-largest Payments exit of the LTM window after BVNK (€1,575m), two scaled Payments exits in two months.

    €1.1bn

    Mollie's price for GoCardless, >90% in shares and c.half its $2.1bn 2022 valuation; signed Dec 2025, closed 1 Sep 2026

    MollieGoCardless
    Closer Look

    Funding rebounds 4.3x to €1.8bn as wealth and market-data platforms take 60% of the month

    Pulse-sector funding rose to €1,790m across 145 rounds (August restated: €412m / 78 rounds), the strongest month since Jun-26 and above the LTM monthly average of €1,571m.

    Cap Markets & DA raised €1,079m, led by two wealth deals worth €862m: International Wealth Group's €474m first round and FNZ's €388m from La Caisse. Excluding them, the other 143 rounds raised €927m, still more than double August.

    Public comps extended the rebound: the composite added 8.3% in September while the S&P 500 (-0.4%) and STOXX Europe 600 (-2.6%) slipped, led by CFO & Workforce SW (+18.2%) and Banking & Ins. SW (+11.5%).

    Median EV/Revenue rose in all six baskets in Q3-26, most in CFO & Workforce SW (3.3x to 4.8x); the composite is +20% off its Apr-26 low but still down 7.5% LTM against +11.9% for the S&P 500.

    €1.8bn

    Pulse-sector funding in September: 4.3x August and the strongest month since Jun-26 · 145 rounds · two wealth deals are 48%

    FNZInternational Wealth Group

    Sources: Mollie / GoCardless announcements (signed Dec 2025, closed 1 Sep 2026); Sifted; BusinessCloud; PitchBook deal data & comps (Oct-26); Finch Capital analysis.

    Finch Pulse Index: +8.3% in September, -7.5% LTM

    Equal-weight composite of the six baskets, indexed to 100 (LTM to Sep-26)

    Finch Pulse Composite vs. major indices

    Indexed to 100 at Oct-25

    Finch Pulse Composite
    S&P 500
    Nasdaq 100
    STOXX Europe 600

    LTM total return by sector

    Total return over the last twelve months to Sep-26

    Data via Monthly Pulse Masterfile; refreshed 26-Oct-2026. Sources: PitchBook, Yahoo Finance, Finch Capital analysis.

    Valuation Multiples: All Six Baskets Re-Rate in Q3-26

    Equal-weight median TTM EV/Revenue and EV/EBITDA per comp basket, quarterly

    Median EV / TTM Revenue

    Median of liquid public comps per basket

    Payments
    Banking & Ins. SW
    Real Assets Tech
    CFO & Workforce SW
    Legal, Risk & Comp.
    Cap Markets & DA

    Data via Monthly Pulse Masterfile; refreshed 26-Oct-2026. Sources: PitchBook, Yahoo Finance, Finch Capital analysis.

    Rule of 40: Cap Markets & DA Leads at 51

    Median LTM revenue growth % + LTM EBITDA margin % per basket

    Median Rule of 40 by sector

    Quarterly, Q4-24 to Q3-26

    Payments
    Banking & Ins. SW
    Real Assets Tech
    CFO & Workforce SW
    Legal, Risk & Comp.
    Cap Markets & DA

    Rule of 40 vs. EV/Revenue (Q3-26)

    Quality is being paid for: higher Rule of 40 scores earn premium multiples

    Data via Monthly Pulse Masterfile; refreshed 26-Oct-2026. Sources: PitchBook, Yahoo Finance, Finch Capital analysis.

    VC & Growth Funding: September Rebounds to €1.8bn

    European rounds across the six Pulse sectors and seven regions, Oct-25 to Sep-26

    Funding value (€m) by sector

    Monthly, Oct-25 to Sep-26

    Payments
    Banking & Ins. SW
    Real Assets Tech
    CFO & Workforce SW
    Legal, Risk & Comp.
    Cap Markets & DA

    Data via Monthly Pulse Masterfile; refreshed 26-Oct-2026. Sources: PitchBook, Yahoo Finance, Finch Capital analysis.

    Top 15 VC & Growth Deals: Europe, September 2026

    The month's most notable VC & growth deals across the six Pulse sectors

    #CompanyDescriptionSectorCountryStageAmount (€m)Lead investor(s)
    1International Wealth GroupAI-led wealth managementCap Markets & DACyprusLater VC474McKenny-McFarlane Capital
    2FNZ GroupWealth management platformCap Markets & DAUnited KingdomPE Growth388La Caisse
    3KaikoCrypto market dataCap Markets & DAFrancePE Growth95S&P Global
    4Penelope HealthPayer medical-policy APIBanking & Ins. SWUnited KingdomEarly VC86Thoreau
    5MetaviewAI hiring agentsCFO & Workforce SWUnited KingdomLater VC52Index Ventures, Insight Partners
    6XapienAI due-diligence researchLegal, Risk & Comp.United KingdomLater VC48Spectrum Equity
    7Space LabsBlockchain infrastructureCap Markets & DASloveniaPE Growth43Windsor Capital
    8VelocityStablecoin treasury & payCFO & Workforce SWUnited KingdomEarly VC41Dragonfly Capital, FirstMark Capital
    9LimetaxAI-native tax advisoryCFO & Workforce SWGermanyEarly VC36Motive Partners
    10Jack & JillAI recruiting agentsCFO & Workforce SWUnited KingdomEarly VC35Air Street Capital
    11CellPoint DigitalPayment orchestrationPaymentsUnited KingdomPE Growth29Toscafund
    12FintechOSFinancial product ops AIBanking & Ins. SWUnited KingdomLater VC24Bek Ventures, IFC, Cipio, ...
    13Ryft PayMarketplace payoutsPaymentsUnited KingdomLater VC23Gresham House Ventures
    14ManticAI event forecastingCap Markets & DAUnited KingdomSeed22Radical Ventures, Balderton, M12, ...
    15SpottAI-native ATS & CRMCFO & Workforce SWBelgiumSeries A18Balderton, Base10, Y Combinator

    Top 15 Exits: Europe, September 2026

    The month's most notable M&A and IPO exits across the six Pulse sectors

    #AcquireeDescriptionAcquirerSectorCountryExit typeEV (€m)
    1NormativeCarbon accounting platformGreenlyCFO & Workforce SWSwedenMerger/Acquisition63
    2VIPR SolutionsMGA & bordereaux softwareBridgepointBanking & Ins. SWUnited KingdomBuyout/LBO93
    3EntersoftoneERP & business softwareHgCFO & Workforce SWGreeceBuyout/LBO700
    4GoCardlessA2A recurring paymentsMolliePaymentsUnited KingdomMerger/Acquisition1,100
    5SilaePayroll & HR softwareCegidCFO & Workforce SWFranceMerger/Acquisitionn/a
    6D4NextInsurance platform layerRGIBanking & Ins. SWItalyMerger/Acquisitionn/a
    7PaperboxAI insurance documentsAdlib SoftwareBanking & Ins. SWBelgiumMerger/Acquisitionn/a
    8Salary FinanceSalary-linked lendingStreamCFO & Workforce SWUnited KingdomMerger/Acquisitionn/a
    9CorrelaEnergy & utility softwareEsyasoft TechnologyReal Assets TechUnited KingdomMerger/Acquisitionn/a
    10Origo ServicesPension transfer networkiPipelineBanking & Ins. SWUnited KingdomMerger/Acquisitionn/a
    11Mabel InsightsAdviser research toolsIntellifloCap Markets & DAUnited KingdomBuyout/LBOn/a
    12LibeoB2B invoice paymentsShinePaymentsFranceMerger/Acquisitionn/a
    13Oxalys TechnologiesMid-market procurementcisboxCFO & Workforce SWFranceBuyout/LBOn/a
    14VoicescapeSocial housing softwareBGFReal Assets TechUnited KingdomBuyout/LBOn/a
    15Matrix BookingDesk & room bookingVolaris GroupCFO & Workforce SWUnited KingdomMerger/Acquisitionn/a

    Data via Monthly Pulse Masterfile; refreshed 26-Oct-2026. Sources: PitchBook, press.

    Archive

    Archive — Past Market Pulse Reports

    Browse previous editions of the Finch Capital Monthly Market Pulse.

    Market Pulse - August 2026

    Mastercard closes BVNK as stablecoin infrastructure goes mainstream; funding slips 16% to €413m.

    Market Pulse - July 2026

    Finch-backed Fourthline and Veridas merge into a European identity platform as funding falls 81% to €494m.

    Market Pulse - June 2026

    Clearwater Analytics taken private at $8.4bn as the Finch Pulse Composite steadies against major indices.

    Market Pulse - May 2026

    Payments anchors a €907M quarter as Santander acquires TSB; Finch Index resets to 2.9x EV/Rev.