Liberis, a UK-based fintech, announced on Wednesday it secured £57.5 million in combined funding from British Business Investments, Paragon Bank, BCI Finance, and Blenheim Chalcot. According to Liberis, the new facility and equity investment will accelerate our growth to help support an estimated 100,000 UK jobs by 2020, providing huge social and economic benefit to the UK economy.
Founded in 2007, Liberis notably provides finance for small businesses. It funds from 2,500 to £300,000 to limited companies, partnerships, and sole traders. The company has also noted that it has helped more than 5,700 small businesses up and down the UK and provided over £170 million in funding. While revealing more details about the investment, Liberis stated:
“Building on our ongoing partnership with British Business Investments – the commercial arm of the British Business Bank – to fund small UK businesses, we have entered new financing facilities with British Business Investments and Paragon Bank, as well as BCI Finance with whom we have extended terms on our mezzanine line. In addition, we have received incremental equity funding from the UK’s leading digital venture builder Blenheim Chalcot, which has nearly 20 years’ experience of building technology-based companies and a specialism in financial services.”
Rob Straathof, CEO of Liberis, stated:
“Small businesses are the lifeblood of the UK economy yet many still struggle to get much needed financial support from traditional providers. At Liberis, we’re on a mission to fund small businesses to help them achieve their ambitions. We’re incredibly proud to support hardworking business owners such as your local bakery to invest in a new oven, help the neighbourhood pub expand with a beer garden, or enable incremental stock purchase for an online retailer. We’re here to help the British high street thrive and remain independent.”
Straathof added:
“Liberis provides a flexible lifeline to small businesses find it increasingly difficult to draw on bank overdrafts. Our innovative product has proven particularly popular with retail and hospitality businesses where income fluctuates on a seasonal basis. New lending to small businesses by banks has been decreasing since Q4 16 and Liberis jumps into the void with our ‘pay as you earn’ funding solution. In Q4 17, for every 10 retail and hospitality businesses who took out lending from a bank, Liberis lent to one additional business. We want to become the first choice for small business finance by offering a simple and responsible option.”
