Bank North, a Fintech-enabled bank, which will combine cloud-native tech with the trust of face-to-face relationship banking with the “aim of disrupting the £150bn UK SME lending market,” has secured 114% (£1,552,134) of its £1,350,000 target from 486 investors (at the time of writing) with 17 days left in its crowdfunding campaign carried out via Crowdcube.
Based in the United Kingdom, Bank North reports a £65,432,649 pre-money valuation, 2.32% Equity, a £0.25 share price.
Bank North confirmed that the firm received its banking license in August 2021, and has acquired more than £30 million in capital to date.
Here are the key business highlights shared by the firm:
- UK-wide local decisioning and delivery model planned
- Designed to disrupt the £150bn UK SME lending market
- Seeking to provide bespoke finance tailored to UK SMEs requirements
- In Feb 2020 we raised £1.75m on Crowdcube
The company is finalizing investment from new and existing investors “via the Growth Capital Ventures platform.” As noted by the firm, this investment is “reflected on the Crowdcube platform to provide clarity as to the fully diluted position that will be available to investors following completion of the entire investment round.”
The company also mentioned that this Crowdcube funding round “is part of an ongoing funding round by the company.” The firm clarified that this “includes the Growth Capital Ventures funds, as well as a planned series B commencing on completion of this funding round.”
As mentioned in the update, Bank North was “founded with a singular vision: ‘Create the best SME lending bank in the UK and disrupt the massive £150bn SME lending market’.”
This is a market that was and still is “being systematically abandoned by the high-street lenders – even today when the UK needs their support the most, there’s a ~£22bn funding gap for SMEs across the UK,” the update noted.
As explained by the firm, Bank North is “focused on setting new standards for delivery and customer service in the SME marketplace, with highly experienced bankers supported by partnerships providing best in class technology.”
The firm also shared:
“Bank North will focus on solid bankable SME lending opportunities in the £0.5m to £5M loan range. The service will be delivered using the Bank North Regional Pod model where each Pod contains key decision makers to work with the Broker/SME customers to fully understand their borrowing requirements.”
The Pod model has been designed to offer clients “with certainty, flexibility and fast access to funds, with time to cash predicted to be days or weeks rather than months.”
The firm also mentioned:
“Commencement of lending is our next big milestone. This will enable us to demonstrate traction and prove our Pod model in the market, with a goal of building recurring revenues. The core objective of our Crowdcube raise – to provide regulatory capital for loan book growth. It is also an opportunity for retail investors to participate in our first capital raise as a bank.”
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