MarketFinance has secured funds from a European bank, through fintech CrossLend, to facilitate lending to UK businesses.
MarketFinance has secured funds from a European bank, through fintech CrossLend, to facilitate lending to UK businesses.
Research collected by MarketFinance shows that 84% of businesses intend to seek loans this winter.
Already in 2020, MarketFinance has advanced over £342m for institutional investors to meet the needs of UK businesses.
CrossLend, a European digital debt marketplace, originated and closed the transaction with MarketFinance for institutional investors.
This is the third capital markets transaction that CrossLend has executed with MarketFinance.
The two previous deals included note issuance in dollars, euros, and sterling, and their recent transaction will further enable institutional investors to gain exposure to the returns from working capital invoice assets in note format.
This third transaction includes loan receivables partially guaranteed by the UK government under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), which is administered by the British Business Bank.
Tom Stenhouse, chief financial officer of MarketFinance, said: “We have continued to support the UK’s business community with funding throughout the pandemic and impact of the stop-start lockdowns.
“We have taken a measured approach, assessed their COVID-19 exposure and determined that they remain robust businesses.
“We’re grateful to all our investors who have helped us lend £2bn over the past nine years.
“Our investor base ranges from HNWs to institutions including Barclays and the British Business Bank.
“As we grow our product offering and client base we're excited to be able to offer even more investors the opportunity to be a part of the pandemic recovery and enable more small businesses to get the working capital they need.”
Oliver Schimek, chief executive and founder at CrossLend, added: “CrossLend is pleased to continue working with MarketFinance, particularly in these COVID-19 times.
“Both on the origination and investment side, huge challenges have presented themselves for market players, and we have been able to offer our support through providing our specialised tools and digital infrastructure.
“We have demonstrated flexibility by tailoring our structure to help get funding to SMEs across Europe. We are happy to be doing our part to contribute to the recovery effort”.
