A hastily assembled WhatsApp group, then relief: UK tech firms react to SVB

Rescue of Silicon Valley Bank's British arm followed fears sector would be plunged into crisis

• HSBC to buy Silicon Valley Bank UK for 1 in rescue deal
• SVB: global banking shares slide as fallout spreads
• Nils Pratley: relief in the UK over SVB. Panic in the US

UK tech firms breathed a collective sigh of relief" on Monday after a rescue of Silicon Valley Bank's British arm was announced, amid fears that failure to broker a deal would have plunged the industry into an immediate crisis.

Industry insiders said a WhatsApp group called save UK tech" was hastily assembled over the weekend as the sector attempted to stave off the threat of financial problems swamping tech firms as soon as Monday. A crisis was averted, however, when the government helped broker the acquisition of SVB's UK operations by HSBC for 1 in a deal announced on Monday morning.