B-North, a Fintech that is looking to acquire a bank license, is raising capital on Growth Capital Ventures (GCV). According to the offering page, B-North has raised over £1.23 million – topping its hurdle of £500,000.
Craig Peterson, co-founder and chief operating officer of GCV, stated:
“This fundraise has created a rare and attractive opportunity to own a stake in a business that’s about to bring to market a technology-driven UK bank focused on providing finance to scale-ups and SMEs. The leveling up of the UK economy simply cannot be achieved in the current financial landscape and I am very confident that B-North and its unique regional bank model will be an important addition to the supply side of credit to UK SMEs. Getting more funds to high-growth SMEs will be vital as the UK attempts to reinvigorate an economy that has been damaged by the COVID-19 pandemic. SMEs account for around 60% of private sector employment and have been the major driver of job growth over the past ten years.”
B-North previously raised seed capital of over £6.8 million including a six-figure investment from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
The current offering is part of a £20 million series A fundraising round designed to give B-North the capital necessary to finalize its banking license process.
Currently, B-North is an SME lender that provides loans of between £500,000 and £5 million and is built upon the premise of operating regional ‘lending pods’, which include underwriters, valuers, and account managers, across the UK to facilitate an improved borrowing experience. B-North seeks to deliver finance up to 10x faster than the market standard.
Jonathan Thompson, CEO of B-North, commented:
“We are using this ‘bridge’ round to extend our cash runway and enable us to complete our Series A fundraising as efficiently as possible in the coming months, at which point we will bring the business to market. The last couple of years have seen us painstakingly bring together the different, important elements required to deliver fast, efficient lending to the UK’s SMEs. We are very much ready to go and are excited to get out there and start helping businesses realise their ambitions.”
The offering is scheduled to close on October 30, 2020.
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