ThinCats concludes £200m funding round to scale up SME lending
THINCATS, alongside its parent firm ESF Capital, has announced the conclusion of a £200m institutional funding programme, which will enable it to scale up its lending to small- and medium-sized enterprises.
The funding programme is made up of £30m already committed by ESO Capital, £70m from Waterfall Asset Management, with the balance provided by Waterfall and other institutional investors, subject to certain conditions.
Lending will focus on funding growing companies with asset backing and reliable cashflows, including acquisition finance, across all regions and sectors in the UK, ThinCats said on Monday.
Last week Peer2Peer Finance News revealed that ThinCats was in advanced talks with a host of institutional investors, and had updated its terms and conditions in preparation for the expected changes to its institutional investor base.
There have been concerns that the growing influence of institutional cash may push platforms’ decision-making away from the interests of existing retail investors. However, industry figures have argued that the P2P sector is well placed to head off these risks.
ThinCats emphasised that these additional institutional investors, sitting alongside existing lenders on the platform, allow the firm to deliver significant levels of funding to a diverse set of SMEs.
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“This additional investor base will allow us to significantly increase funding for small businesses’ expansion, acquisition or refinancing plans,” said Damon Walford, chief development officer at ThinCats.
“Our focus on providing amounts up to £5m based on assets and reliable cashflows means we occupy a space where traditional providers ‘can’t work’ rather than ‘won’t work’.
“We have built an impressive team to service the market focussed on working alongside professional intermediaries to source opportunities and this funding ensures we are able to provide certainty to borrowers and their advisers.”
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