Savings app Cushon raises £35m, makes third acquisition

A UK-based workplace savings fintech, Cushon, has closed its latest fundraising round at £35 million, bringing its total raised over the past two years to £61 million.

Cushon becomes UK’s fifth largest master trust pension provider

Founded in 2014, Cushon’s stated mission is “to lead a tech-revolution of UK pensions” whilst having “a positive impact on society”.

It provides pension and savings products via a mobile app that offers “a highly personalised experience and environmentally friendly investments, making it easy for customers to manage their money and invest in a way that aligns with their personal goals and beliefs”.

The latest funding was provided entirely by Cushon’s existing investors, including venture capitalist Augmentum Fintech and specialty lending firm AshGrove Capital.

Cushon is also acquiring the Creative auto-enrolment scheme, which is Cushon’s third acquisition in two years. As a result, it will become the fifth largest master trust pension provider in the UK and double its assets under management from £840 million to £1.7 billion across 400,000 customers.

The new capital will be used to fund the acquisition as well as scale operational capability and invest in technology and product development, the company says.

The UK pensions market is the third largest in the world – with a total of £2.58 trillion invested (according to Willis Towers Watson’s Global Pension Assets Study) – and the way people’s money is invested has a significant impact on society and the environment. At present, the average UK pension finances 23 tonnes in CO2 every year, roughly equivalent to five family cars.

“Right now, workplace pensions are simply too complicated, boring, and disconnected from things people care deeply about. Cushon is here to change that,” states Ben Pollard, CEO and founder of Cushon.