Roostify plots UK expansion with a new funding round

Roostify has announced plans to enhance its digital lending platform and bring it to several markets in Europe.

Through a funding round led by Santander InnoVentures, Santander Group’s fintech venture capital fund, Roostify will develop its public cloud-based platform to enable mortgage applications via a smartphone.

The funding will support Roostify’s additional consumer lending products and its geographic expansion to the United Kingdom and other markets across Europe. The company aims to take advantage of the unchanged low mortgage rates in the UK.

Santander InnoVentures said it is supporting Roostify’s expansion with an investment and global agreement as part of its “invest and partner” model. Other existing investors, including JPMorgan Chase and Colchis Capital, also participated.

“We’re excited to continue supporting Roostify in their next stage of growth as they forge ahead with their multinational and product-expansion strategy,” said Manuel Martínez, partner and head of investments at Santander InnoVentures. “The company has seen impressive growth since we originally invested in them last year, and the European mortgage lending market is ripe for the type of machine-learning tools that Roostify offers.”

Over the past 12 months, Roostify’s monthly loan volume has more than doubled to almost $20 billion a month as it supports leading global banks. The company said that customers have also reported an average 20% reduction in the banks’ mortgage-lending process time.

“Digital transformation is a key strategic priority for banks worldwide, and industry-leading lenders are focused on delivering the best customer experience while managing costs,” said Rajesh Bhat, co-founder and chief executive officer of Roostify. “The Roostify lending platform enables lenders to realize up to 300% growth in loan applications and a significant reduction origination costs. The future is frictionless, everyone benefits when you optimize the lending process.”