Fintech platform MarketFinance announced a debt raise from Deutsche Bank which the company will use to part fund up to £100m of lending to support strong, well-managed SME businesses with their investment and working capital needs.
The announcement comes at a time when results from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB)’s quarterly Small Business Index (SBI) show that lending to UK businesses has hit an all-time low with fewer than one in ten small firms applying for finance in the first quarter of 2022 – the lowest proportion since SBI records began.
MarketFinance also announced today that it is expanding its lending capacity to include under-served SMEs, such as the UK’s 3.2 million sole traders and partnerships, offering competitive rates and terms, while continuing to serve limited companies and LLPs.
With the fastest credit decisioning and payouts in the market, UK SME borrowers – the backbone of the economy – will be able to access between £10,000 and £500,000 within 24 hours of applying to aid their growth plans.
“Closing a funding deal from a high calibre institution like Deutsche Bank is a huge milestone for our business, and a testament to our lending track record, our technology, and our people. More than that, this facility will allow us to continue to deliver on our mission to make finance frictionless for UK SMEs,” said Marion Delille, VP Capital Markets at MarketFinance.
Anil Stocker, CEO and Co-founder at MarketFinance said: “The fintech movement started in the shadow of the 2008 financial crash, and has since become a vital part of the finance ecosystem in the UK and exported globally. Companies like MarketFinance were there to help during the Covid pandemic. We’re continuing to innovate by serving sole traders and partnerships for the first time and by embracing the move to embedded finance.
“We’re making our products available via key platforms, helping businesses manage their payments and gain seamless access to finance when they need it most. Businesses need funding in the good times and the bad, and we’re right here standing by them,” she added
Born in the shadow of the 2008 financial crash, MarketFinance operates a proprietary fintech platform which makes access to highly competitive business loans and working capital frictionless for UK SMEs – with the fastest credit decisions in the market.
The business recently announced it reached profitability in 2021. This was driven largely by the business demand for working capital over the pandemic, product development to offer embedded finance with key business-to-business platform partners, and its role as a delivery partner for the British Business Bank lending schemes, CBILS and RLS.