UK’s newly licenced bank Cashplus has reportedly launched a £50m ($69m) fundraising to scale up business and to meet the demand for small business loans.
The proposed funding will be Cashplus’s first outside investment apart from its major stakeholder and private equity firm Trident Capital, which has invested £20m into the company till date.
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Cashplus CEO Rich Wagner told Reuters that fundraising proposal got approved by company’s board last week, and he has been looking for equity from growth investment firms.
He stated that Cashplus has provided £640m lending to date and planning to lend £1bn in coming five years.
Wagner claimed that Cashplus has a competitive advantage over others because of its long track record.
He further stated that Cashplus is hoping to expand in the Covid-19 affected economy, which can increase loan defaults.
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By GlobalDataMost of the customers of Cashplus are newly formed companies. It is hoping to benefit from the rise in new startups in the current economy.
He told Reuters: “The credit profile of our customers is quite unique. We are seeing individual directors who are formulating business ideas as a contingency against losing their job.
“Startups are already at record highs and we expect they will grow from there.”
Launched in 2005, Cashplus offers current digital accounts and lending to small businesses and customers with low credit scores.
Earlier this month, the UK’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has granted a full banking licence to Cashplus, which was earlier functioning under e-money licence.
