Growth Street, the company transforming the business overdraft for the Open Banking era, has closed a new £10m funding round led by existing investors Merian Chrysalis Investment Company Limited, advised by Merian Global Investors, and Arts Alliance.
Growth Street will use the funds to build on their unique credit decision systems, powered by data integrations with leading accounting software and Open Banking, to improve decision speed and quality.
The company will deepen the presence of its national sales team, with a focus on the most underserved SME populations in the Midlands and North of England.
Then invest in diversify its debt funding base by adding institutional investors.
The latest round of funding comes at a time of exponential growth for Growth Street, having facilitated £100m of borrowing through its platform to British SMEs.
In January 2019, the firm announced a £7.5m round of funding led by Merian Chrysalis. The summer funding round values Growth Street at £47.5m, up from £27.5m from the winter fundraise.
Growth Street co-founder and CEO Greg Carter said, “Our mission has always been to provide businesses with the finance options they need to grow, and this injection will help accelerate that mission.
“There’s no two ways about it, the banks are failing businesses: they have failed to innovate, failed to integrate and, fundamentally, failed to provide SMEs with sufficient capital to grow. Since the financial crash in 2008, the banks have dialled back their overdraft volumes by over 40%.
“In that same time, the number of UK SMEs has risen 30%. The UK has to find a way to plug this gap, and I am excited that Growth Street can play a part in that process.”
Thomas Hoegh, Growth Street co-founder and investor said, “Working with tech businesses and startups across the UK, I am well-acquainted with the challenge of securing a finance solution that works.
“With amazing cloud-based solutions for clients to share data with us, we can in turn use AI and predictive models to lend with ongoing optimisation for both parties.”
Richard Watts, co-fund manager of Merian Chrysalis said, “Growth Street’s innovative financial solution provides important support for Britain’s thriving entrepreneurial sector. We’re delighted that we’ve been able to aid the business by making a second investment.”
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