​​​​​​Laura Pomfret and Holly Holland took their finance startup on the road over the winter, traveling from Manchester to Helsinki to rub shoulders with potential backers. In some ways, it was easier than trying to raise money in Britain.

Pomfret and her team of three soaked up keynote speeches, bonded over cold plunges and networked with other founders at Christmas markets. International investors, though, were their main target. “There’s a lot of people in the North trying to do more,” said Pomfret. “But the UK investment landscape is incredibly London-centric.”