In a significant development this year, HSBC garnered attention through its noteworthy acquisition of Silicon Valley Bank, subsequently rebranding it as SVB UK. The latest development on HSBC’s strategic front involves HSBC Innovation Banking and BCI Capital jointly extending $112 million in debt financing to the London-based fintech firm, Liberis. This injection of capital adds to Liberis’ substantial funding, which now surpasses $700 million, inclusive of contributions from various capital providers and investors.
Previously, the fintech snapped investments from SVB UK and £140 million from Barclays Bank PLC and BCI Finance to support its global partner expansion.
Funds utilisation
This amount will be used to support its further growth in North America and Europe and expansion into new markets, including Canada, Poland and Germany. Liberis is set to continue its trajectory of empowering SME owners with the financial tools they need to succeed in an increasingly challenging economic landscape.
This debt financing milestone enables the company to bolster its mission to close the global Small Business funding gap. It will strengthen Liberis’s commitment to providing businesses with more adaptable and accessible financial options.
The debt financing will support Liberis’s strategic plans to serve existing and new partners in these new territories. It will enable the company to address the unique needs of SMEs by offering tailored finance options that align with their growth trajectories.
Personalised financing for SMEs
Liberis was founded in 2007 by Charles Mindenhall and Paul Mildenstein, and is led by CEO, Rob Straathof. The company has helped over 10,000 small businesses globally access over £300 million in funding and supports 82,000 jobs. In addition to providing direct finance solutions to small businesses, the company also provides partners with a scalable finance platform to assist them in developing more valuable relationships with small businesses.
It offers flexible, affordable, and convenient funding options that can be extremely beneficial to small and medium-sizedmedium sized business owners. Liberis is working to increase financial inclusion for SMEs around the world by providing much-needed funding options that they haven’t had before.
Partnership with big players
Liberis’ global partner network includes e-commerce platforms like Klarna as well as acquirers like Barclaycard, Worldpay from FIS, Clover, and Global Payments. These partners collaborate with Liberis to provide personalised revenue-based financing of up to £1 million to up to 1 million SMEs. Payments are linked to a company’s transactions, allowing them to pay for funds more comfortably and in accordance with their income.
Commenting on the funding gap faced by small businesses, Nima Montazeri, CPO at Liberis, said: “The challenge faced by small businesses when seeking finance is indicative of the inflexible lending criteria maintained by traditional banks, which often unfairly categorise SMEs as high-risk borrowers. This issue stems from outdated lending practices and technologies which fail to adequately cater to the needs of smaller, asset-light businesses.”
