Zopa looks to raise £50m ahead of IPO

ZOPA is reportedly in advanced discussions with investors about a £50m fundraising ahead of a stock market flotation.

The peer-to-peer lender is close to finalising the funding round, which will value the company at up to £400m, according to Sky News.

Sources cited by the Sky News report said the latest equity funding round was likely to be led by existing shareholders including Indian financial conglomerate Wadhawan Global Capital (WGC), although discussions with potential new investors are also continuing.

The fresh funding will serve as a pre-initial public offering round of money, according to the report, meaning that Zopa is likely to float in the next couple of years.

The funding will be used to finance regulatory requirements for the launch of its digital bank.

Zopa’s last funding round was last summer, when it raised £32m from investors including WGC.

On Thursday morning, Zopa announced that it had created separate boards for its P2P and banking arms ahead of its bank launch, as part of a corporate governance shake-up.

Former Peer-to-Peer Finance Association chair Christine Farnish has been headed up to lead the P2P board.

Zopa, which is headed up by Jaidev Janardana (pictured), declined to comment on the Sky News report.