UK-based ClearScore, a free-of-cost credit scoring service and marketplace, has acquired $200 million in capital from Invus Opportunities.
Invus Opportunities, the global equity investor, has committed to a considerable, “long term investment” in ClearScore, the UK’s leading credit marketplace, according to a release.
The funds will be used to accelerate ClearScore‘s growth in its business globally. ClearScore currently serves more than 14 million clients worldwide, on three continents, the announcement revealed.
The update also mentioned that this latest investment totaling $200m, at a valuation of $700 million, is an “exciting” development for one of the UK’s leading Fintech firms, that has supported millions of clients during the past 6 years “especially through the pandemic.”
ClearScore has “long standing profitability and is coming out of the COVID crisis with an evolving suite of innovative products,” the update noted while adding that this new investment will accelerate ClearScore’s “ongoing investments to expand its team, product suite, and customer base globally.”
As mentioned in the release, Invus Opportunities is an investment company that “specifically takes long term and significant positions in companies where they believe in both the management of the organization and the fundamentals of the business, and where they can make a significant impact.”
The investment is “a mix of primary and secondary, with existing investors – QED, Blenheim Chalcot and LeadEdge – together with management, retaining the majority of their positions in ClearScore, whilst allowing Invus Opportunities to take a significant minority position in the company,” the announcement confirmed.
The release also noted that the deal sees Benjamin Tsai of Invus Opportunities “joining the ClearScore board, with co-founders Nigel Morris remaining as Chairman and Justin Basini continuing as Chief Executive.”
Justin Basini, co-founder and CEO, ClearScore stated:
“We welcome Invus Opportunities to the board and look forward to working with their team as we continue to grow ClearScore in the UK and internationally. As one of the only profitable UK fintech business operating at real scale, we didn’t need to raise money, but rather we chose to partner with Invus. We made this decision as a team because of Invus’ track record of working strategically over the long term with their businesses to recognise global opportunities, whilst delivering superior services to consumers. I have been incredibly impressed with Invus’ insight and I’m looking forward to working closely with them to deliver our vision, that ClearScore will become an indispensable financial partner to millions more users around the world.”
Benjamin Tsai remarked:
“We partner best with ambitious companies who are committed to making a positive impact on the lives of their customers. For us, ClearScore does this exceptionally well, as evidenced by their innovative product offering and ever-growing user base. We see huge potential in the business, already sustainable and profitable, and are excited to be involved in the ClearScore journey.”