A London-based growth platform, Playter that helps SMEs scale quicker with BNPL, has closed $55 million in funding. It is a mix of equity and debt funding and came from the backers of Klarna, SoFi and Pipe.
The financing round was led by Adit Venture Capital and Fasanara Capital (that invested in Flummox and Scalapay) longside notable investments from Fin Capital, Act Venture Capital, and 1818 Ventures.
UK expansion ahead
This round follows the $1.7 million seed funding that Playter secured in March. The proceeds of this round will let Playter accelerate its growth and will help the company focus on further expansion within the UK market. The startup has ambitions to go global in the future.
Jamie Beaumont, founder and CEO of Playter, said: “BNPL for business is a completely different concept to B2C BNPL. Right now, there are very few B2B purchases happening online. We’ve created a platform that gives total control for businesses to dictate what payment terms they want to have, helping them pay over 6-12 months, whilst their suppliers are still paid within 24 hours. With this superpower, we help businesses that want to scale regardless of the market conditions.”
Jon Cholak, managing partner at Adit Ventures, said: “Adit sees in Playter a unique SME-focused BNPL platform that helps growing companies better manage their working capital. Playter’s management team, technical platform and customer-first focus all make for a compelling investment opportunity, and we see a growing need for their services across the ecosystem particularly as capital and credit conditions tighten because of broader macroeconomic trends.”
Francesco Filia, CEO of Fasanara Capital, said: “We are delighted to partner with Playter. As funding dries up for early stage companies, Playter brings to the table an innovative and highly flexible funding offer that we believe will greatly benefit the ecosystem”.
What does Playter do?
Playter was founded in 2021 by Jamie Beaumont in London with the mission to make it easier for businesses to pay for professional services invoices. It recognises that the key to success for many businesses is scaling at speed, the ability to hire new talent, develop a new product or pump funds into a campaign.
Playter allows SMEs to take control of payment terms. This means that they can spread the cost of software, agency fees, rent, marketing, and many more payments over 6 or 12 months. It doesn’t just help businesses with cashflow but also helps redistribute liquidity, allowing businesses to invest in high growth areas such as marketing, hiring and development.
It has a truly unique commercial model, boasting a world-first subscription model within the B2B lending markets. Playter’s seamless model means that SMEs can apply in just five minutes and access funds in as little as 24 hours from gaining access to the platform. Business owners can keep full control with no dilution or restrictive debt.
Since its inception, Playter has powered its service across a variety of industries spanning technology and consumer finance with clients, including REalyse, Wiserfunding and more. The platform allows businesses to unlock up to £300,000 with no interest costs or revenue sharing with a simple subscription fee starting from £550 per month.
