Embedded business finance platform Liberis has bagged £70m in new funding to fuel its growth.
Long-term partners British Business Investments, Paragon Bank, BCI Europe as well as new partner Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) topped up the company’s coffers in the new round, which brought the funds raised by Liberis to £200m in total.
The venture will use the money to scale, launch new products and markets, and provide additional customer financing solutions.
“Our significant growth in the past two years has highlighted the need in the market for SME support, especially during uncertain times,” said Rob Straathof, CEO of Liberis.
“As an SME ourselves, we understand the plight and have survived an economic downturn. With uncertainty in the market, funding can be hard to access from more risk averse institutions. We are thrilled to have extra resources to help our partners support SMEs’ survival through Covid and beyond.”
Founded in 2007, Liberis has provided over £500m in financing to 16,000 SMEs across Europe, USA and UK, including £250m in the past two years alone.
“We are pleased to become a new funding partner to Liberis and have been impressed with their ability to embed financing solutions across technology platforms, payments providers and more,” said Folake Shasanya, head of EMEA warehouse financing at SVB. “At SVB, supporting innovation is in our DNA and we are delighted to provide this global growth opportunity to Liberis through our Warehouse and Venture Debt products.
Judith Hartley, CEO of British Business Investments, added “At British Business Investments, our mission is to increase the overall supply and diversity of finance for smaller businesses across the UK. By supporting innovative lenders such as Liberis, we can continue to help smaller businesses access the finance they need to achieve their growth ambitions.”
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