Chinese tech company Tencent has cashed in its stake in the British challenger bank Tide , as part of a retreat strategy from international investments and fundings. Following this announcement, Tencent has offloaded its shares in the fintech company, which was developed in order to specialise in accounts for small businesses and firms, to an unknown buyer or buyers.

Officials of the dominant Chinese application WeChat have been involved in making strategic deals over the past decade, a process that developed by taking stakes in start-ups across the region of China and the West. However, in recent months, its overall activity has slowed. More information on the announcement According to a recent Tencent filing, the financial institution’s Tencent Cloud Computing reduced its 14pc stake in the British challenger bank Tide in April of 2024.

It is unclear who bought Tencent’s stake, although Tide also ran a secondary share sale earlier this year in order to provide early investors with the possibility to cash out. Such sales are currently becoming more common among tech start-ups, as they tend to stay private for a longer period of time. For example, according to Microsoft Start , Revolut also recently told staff that they are allowed to sell shares at a USD 45 billion (EUR 35 billion) valuation.

Tencent became a prolific investor in UK fintechs in recent years, as a part of an overall global push to back hundreds of tech firms and enterprises. It has also taken stakes in fintech startups such as Previse and Monzo. In 2022, the group became more cautious about the process of investing across China after a crashdown on tech companies, which drove the financial institution to look overseas for new deals and partnerships.

At the same time, the value of deals that were completed by Tencent fell from USD 20 billion in 2018 to USD 6 billion in 2023. Neither Tire nor Tencent commented on this announcement. .