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Sporta closes Crowdcube round as community backs AI-native ban

Monday, December 15, 2025 — 17:10:41 (UTC)

Sporta closes Crowdcube round as community backs AI-native bank for sport, leisure and wellbeing

Brooklyn, N.Y., December 15th 2025 - Sporta, the emerging AI-native bank designed to serve the sport, leisure and wellbeing sectors, has closed its latest Crowdcube campaign with £122,923 raised from community investors.

The crowdfunding element forms part of Sporta’s second seed round and was designed to give individuals, clubs and early supporters - many of whom engaged during Sporta’s market-research phase - the opportunity to invest at levels that were previously inaccessible.

Sporta’s leadership emphasises that this raise is about establishing trust and community ownership at a formative point in the company’s journey toward full regulatory approval.

This fundraising is part of the wider journey to become the leading bank that powers sport, leisure and wellbeing. Sporta is the world’s first AI-native challenger bank built for the UK sports ecosystem, a £100B economy with 43 million participants but no dedicated financial infrastructure.

With the initial seed round completed in May 2025, Sporta expects to complete its UK banking licence submission and build its MVP during 2026, targeting licence approval in Q3 2026.

Andrew Smith, Founder of Sporta, said: “This round was never about scale, it was about inclusion. From day one, people across sport told us they wanted to be part of what we’re building, even if they couldn’t meet traditional investment thresholds. Crowdcube let us honour that. Raising £122,923 at this stage is a strong signal of trust, but more importantly it shows we’re building the bank for this community with this community.”

Sporta confirmed its valuation has increased by 75% since its initial seed close reflecting rapid progress in building its proprietary technology, recruiting core talent and shaping its regulatory pathway.

Smith added, “The journey continues. Securing our banking licence, delivering our first products and deepening our technology build remain our focus. Today’s announcement marks another step forward - measured, deliberate and aligned with our long-term mission to create a bank that genuinely serves and empowers everyone in sport, leisure and wellbeing.”

Sporta anticipates returning to crowdfunding again as part of its planned Series A raise. This will take place once a banking license has been secured but with restrictions. This forms part of its defined core strategy of balancing institutional capital with accessible community investment - a model used effectively by several standout UK fintechs in their formative stages.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

About Sporta

Sporta is the new home for UK sports finance. Built to empower community clubs, athletes, and fans, Sporta provides digital infrastructure, financial tools, and rewards that help clubs thrive and create new opportunities for growth. By turning financial services into belonging and a movement, Sporta ensures that sport remains a shared source of wellbeing, pride, and performance for generations to come.

As part of its vision, Sporta is aspiring to become a fully licensed retail bank in the UK - building the trusted financial foundation that the sports ecosystem needs to grow sustainably. Alongside this ambition, Sporta advocates and raises awareness for the importance of sport, not only for communities to have the financial support they need, but, but also to showcase the journeys of clubs, athletes, and communities to inspire more people to get active, join new clubs, and participate.

Sporta’s founding investor is the Lazaroo-Hood Group, led by CEO Ross Lazaroo-Hood.

The Sporta Crowdcube campaign closed on 10 December 2025.

Biographies of Core Team

Andrew Smith: Founder & CEO, Sporta

Andrew is one of the UK’s most respected fintech leaders and a pioneer of modern banking infrastructure. As the Founding CTO of ClearBank, the UK’s first new clearing bank in more than 250 years, he helped redefine the market and popularise Banking-as-a-Service. His career spans senior architecture and technology leadership roles at Barclays, HBOS, NatWest, RBS, Norwich Union and Britannia, followed by entrepreneurial ventures in mobile payments and financial market infrastructure, including Founder & CEO of CloudZync and founder of RTGS Global. Andrew is a former National League Basketball player, 2nd XI Cricket player and avid motorsport enthusiast.

Vicky Gosling OBE: Global Sports Leader, Sporta

Vicky Gosling OBE is a highly regarded leader across UK sport, defence and public service. A former RAF Group Captain with a distinguished military career. She is Chief Executive of GB Snowsport, Chair of GB Surfing, Custodian of the Rugby Centurions, and a Board Director for the Jockey Club at Aintree Racecourse and Lost Shores surf resort. She also sits on the British Olympic Association Board as Urban Sports Advisor. Vicky is also the former CEO and current Chair of the Invictus Games and has held senior leadership roles across defence, veterans’ welfare and government advisory groups.

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Source: Company press release.

Categories: Announcement