Flexible loans for UK businesses made simple: London fintech MarketFinance nets £280M funding
UK-fintech business lender MarketFinance is an online platform that lets businesses access a range of flexible finance solutions easily. Today, the fintech has secured £280 million debt and equity investment. Also, it has been accredited by the British Business Bank as a lender under Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS).
The debt financing was provided from a large global investment firm alongside Italy’s largest bank, Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. The equity investment was led by Black River Ventures that has backed Marqeta, Upgrade, Coursera, and Digital Ocean alongside participation from existing investor, Barclays Bank PLC.
MarketFinance intends to use the funds to help UK companies with business loans. It has launched Flex Loans, which is an unsecured flexible facility that will help SMEs solve their everyday cash flow problems. It aims to help nearly one million SMEs in the UK solve their short-term funding gaps up to £100,000.
Viola Credit has provided MarketFinance with £20 million to launch the Flex Loans product. Similar to a credit card or overdraft, businesses will have a pre-agreed limit of up to £100,000, which they can withdraw at once or in smaller amounts. Flexible repayment options enable the businesses to spread their repayments over 3 – 12 months based on their working capital needs.
This solution will support a variety of one-off and ongoing funding requirements, including purchasing inventory, clearing outstanding invoices, upfront supplier payments, investment into sales and marketing or expanding the team.
Besides the investment, MarketFinance became one of the first fintechs to be accredited under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), which lent £250 million to companies across the UK. Launched by the British Business Bank in April 2021, the Recovery Loan Scheme supports access to finance for UK businesses as they recover and grow following the pandemic.
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