ThinCats achieves record year for lending

ThinCats achieved record lending volumes of £289m in 2020, supporting mid-sized businesses amid the pandemic.

This beat the alternative business lender’s previous record of £200m in 2019.

During 2020, ThinCats participated in the government’s emergency support schemes designed to help businesses during the public health crisis. It was one of the first alternative lenders to be accredited for the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS) at the end of April and the coronavirus large business interruption loan scheme in June.

ThinCats, which exited the P2P space in favour of institutional funding in 2019, has lent more than £600m to UK businesses over the past three years.

Last year, the lender also set up specialist credit and origination teams for private equity backed businesses and those in the healthcare sector to meet increasing demand.

“The economic impact of Covid will be long felt so it’s vital that businesses can access the funding they require,” said Amany Attia, chief executive of ThinCats.

“Alternative lenders like ThinCats have demonstrated that there is an important role for non-bank lenders dedicated to support growth businesses that will drive much of the post-pandemic economic recovery.

“In 2020 we proved that our model of deploying institutional capital alongside our own balance sheet capital is a genuine and sustainable alternative to the banks for delivering funding at scale to many UK businesses.

“Looking into 2021 there will be further funding requirements for many businesses as they look to invest, acquire and grow. We have substantial amounts of lending capital to deploy and look forward to supporting many more mid-sized businesses with their specific needs over the next 12 months.”

In its latest annual results, ThinCats revealed that it became profitable in the fourth quarter of this year, after its losses widened in 2019.

The lender reported a loss of £9.385m in 2019, up from a £8.177m loss in 2018, while its revenues rose by 110 per cent year-on-year to reach £7.2m in 2019.