At the 600-year-old Guildhall in the city of London, key players in a two-decade-old industry looking to remake finance are gathering.

Innovate Finance¡¯s summit ¡ª part of U.K. Fintech Week ¡ª aims to showcase Britain¡¯s financial technology sector and its global ambitions. Its profile has never been higher, with soaring demand from both customers and investors ¡ª even if the latter are proving a little harder to find than in the U.S.

Investments in U.K. fintech companies more than tripled to $11.6 billion last year, according to figures published by Innovate Finance, a trade body for the industry. That¡¯s not including the billions that more traditional banks and tech giants are splashing out to upgrade everything from current account apps to emerging uses for blockchain.