Lightning Reach acquired by European Technology Group
July 21, 2026
Lightning Reach, the UK platform that helps people in financial hardship access grants and benefits, has been acquired by European Technology Group, a govtech investor that buys and holds software businesses serving the public sector. Terms were not disclosed.
Roughly £24bn in benefits, grants and other financial support goes unclaimed in the UK every year. The money exists, but it sits with hundreds of separate councils, charities, utilities, housing associations and trusts, each with its own eligibility criteria and application form. More than 20 million people live in financially vulnerable circumstances, and most have no practical way of knowing what they qualify for. The organisations distributing the money face the mirror image of the problem: rising demand, tighter budgets and manual administration.
Lightning Reach collapses that into a single journey. A person completes one profile and is matched against schemes from across the network, applying once rather than repeatedly. Partner organisations get tooling to verify financial need — including via open banking, which removes the manual collection and review of bank statements — and to process applications and deliver payments. More than 100 organisations use it, including large utility providers, local authorities, charities, housing associations and banks.
The company was founded during the Covid-19 pandemic by Ren Yi Hooi, previously product director at Railsbank, and launched its platform in December 2021. It has since reached more than 300,000 people and facilitated over £25m in financial assistance. Annual recurring revenue quadrupled over the past year while the business stayed cash positive, and it was named Fintech for Good of the Year at this year's Fintech Awards London.
Lightning Reach had raised from close to 30 investors, including a £1m round in 2023 led by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation with Big Issue Invest's Growth Impact Fund and Techstars. The acquisition is ETG's third, following Swiss software provider Hürlimann Informatik and workforce management platform Public Sector Software; the group counts more than 400 public sector clients across six countries. Lightning Reach will continue to operate independently with its existing team, under chief operating officer Rhiannon Sheridan, who has stepped up to chief executive. Hooi moves to the board as a director. The stated target is one million people reached by 2028, with ETG's public sector procurement experience intended to open access at that scale. CapEQ advised on the sale, with Burness Paull acting as legal counsel.
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