Silicon Valley Bank is expanding in the UK as the nation's tech scene 'booms'

Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), a company with a range of financial services tailored towards technology and life science businesses, announced Monday that it is "significantly" expanding its UK operation as it looks to capitalise on the growth of the UK tech sector.

The company - launched in the UK in 2012 and now with 1,200 UK-based clients - said it is hiring "extensively" to support the UK's "thriving tech scene."

The bank, which witnessed the UK tech scene "boom" in 2015, provides commercial and international banking services to startups like online furniture retailer Made.com, fashion retailer Farfetch, and email management software provider Mimecast.

In order to facilitate its growing workforce, SVB has moved into a new office at Finsbury Square, which is also home to the UK headquarters of Bloomberg and a large Cisco office. It also sits between East London Tech City and the City of London.

SVB said it plans to hire up to 50 more staff at the new office in 2016, bringing total employees in the UK up to approximately 150.

Technology companies in the UK raised $3.6 billion (£2.6 billion) last year, more investment than any previous year, according to figures that were touted by London & Partners in January.

Phil Cox, head of EMEA and president of SVB's UK Branch, said: "Through our UK Branch, we've been able to bring that same experience, pace and passion to Britain's technology and life science sectors.

"Our clients are our number one priority and we're pleased to be moving even closer to them. London's thriving tech ecosystem continues to be an important location, both to SVB and to the innovation ecosystem at large. We're optimistic about the year ahead, the British technology sector, and SVB's contributions to this market."