Christian Owens, founder of payments unicorn Paddle, and Alex Loizou, founder of ecommerce marketplace Trouva, have teamed up to launch Clove, a new fintech aiming to close what regulators call the “financial advice gap.”
The startup has just come out of stealth with a $14 million pre-seed round led by Accel, joined by Kindred Capital, Air Street Capital, and a lineup of high-profile angels.
Clove’s pitch is simple but ambitious: build the financial institution of the future, starting with advice. In the UK, only around 10% of people receive professional financial advice.
A huge section of society has been failed by the financial advice industry, because it’s only able to serve those that are already wealthy. If you’re not making the most of your money, major life milestones, buying a home, starting a family, retiring early, all feel more out of reach than they should.”
Christian Owens, Clove’s co-founder and CEO
Clove plans to combine human advisers with AI-driven insights, a hybrid model that aims to make professional advice more accessible and cost-effective. The company is actively hiring financial advisers across the UK as it builds toward a 2026 public launch, pending FCA authorization.
