EP48 — Unicorn Files — Allica Bank: the operating system of relationship banking

In this Unicorn Files episode we tell the story of Allica Bank, one of the most interesting fintechs to emerge in Europe in recent years. Not because it invented another polished app. Not because it won with the loudest marketing. But because it chose a much more difficult market: that of structured British SMEs, typically companies with 5–250 employees, a huge segment often poorly served by traditional banking.

Allica's thesis is almost counterintuitive: instead of eliminating human relationships, it put them back at the center. But with a radical upgrade. Dedicated relationship managers, faster processes, proprietary technology stack, software integrations and a much smarter reading of the customer. In other words: not "old banking", but relationship banking powered by software.

We retrace the origins: born as Civilised Bank, renamed Allica in 2018, obtained banking license in September 2019 and began operations in October that year. In 2020 Richard Davies joins as CEO, with experience from Revolut, HSBC, OakNorth, Barclays and TSB, and from there the bank truly begins to scale.

A key milestone: in 2021 it acquires from AIB an SME portfolio of about 2,000 customers and €0.6 billion in lending; in 2022 it completes the migration of over 1,400 customers and 1,700 loans onto its platform.

The Business Rewards Account, launched to become the customer's primary bank, exceeds 6,000 customers by end of 2024 and reaches 14,000 by end of 2025 (+133%). When you're the primary account of an SME, you have more data, better retention, more cross-sell.

The numbers: in 2024 £29.9M pre-tax profit, £293.1M gross revenue, £3 billion in lending and £4+ billion in deposits. In 2025: £371.3M gross revenue, £3.7B lending, £5.7B deposits, £43.7M underlying pre-tax profit (£36.9M statutory).

In February 2026 Allica closes a Series D of 155 million dollars, reaching a valuation close to 1.2 billion dollars and crossing the unicorn threshold. At the time of the round it served over 30,000 business customers, with market penetration already over 6% and target of 10% by 2028.

• I mercati trascurati possono essere più grandi di quelli hype.
• L’ibrido tra software proprietario e relazione umana può diventare un moat potente.
• La scala vera arriva quando allarghi le capability senza perdere il focus sul cliente.