ThinCats secures £200m funding deal with BAE pension fund

THINCATS has secured a £200m facility with BAE Systems’ pension fund that will provide further funding for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The peer-to-peer business lender heralded the new agreement with BAE Systems Pensions, one of the world’s biggest pension funds, saying that it builds on its historic support of the business.

ThinCats said it now has a capital of £800m to provide loans of between £100,000 and £15m across all regions and sectors.

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This follows news of significant loan funding agreed with the global asset manager, Insight Investment, in September 2018.

ThinCats said its lending focus is on “meeting borrowers’ ambitions through funding of up to five years”. It only lends to companies which have asset backing or reliable cashflows for working capital, acquisition, refinance or growth.

“This additional funding programme with BAE Systems Pensions demonstrates our continued ability to link institutional investor capital to growing UK SMEs,” said Damon Walford, chief development officer for ThinCats.

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“Our concerted regional focus and diversified funding sources has driven a significant increase in lending volumes – ThinCats will achieve a record level of funding in 2018.”

David Adam, chief investment officer of BAE Systems Pensions, added: “Our partnership with ThinCats enables us to invest on behalf of our members in an asset class that offers a highly attractive risk-return profile while also making a contribution to UK SMEs, by providing much needed funding to medium-sized SMEs as key participants in the UK economy.”

ThinCats has originated more than £350m of business loans since it was founded in 2011. Institutional backing has helped the platform scale up its lending with larger deals.

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