London-based fintech unicorn Wise has bagged £300 million capital in the form of a syndicated debt facility from Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) UK. Based in California, it is one of the most innovative companies and investors in the UK and Europe.
The syndicated facility, which was led by Silicon Valley Bank UK’s Corporate Finance team with a hold level of £100 million, also saw participation from six other banks but the specifics remain unknown. Previously, Wise raised £160 million of refinancing on their existing line of credit through a syndicated facility led by Silicon Valley Bank’s UK and EMEA Corporate Finance team in 2021.
What does SVB UK do?
Silicon Valley Bank UK’s Corporate Finance team works with the most innovative public and late-stage private companies in the UK, providing a full suite of lending and banking solutions, as well as guidance as an active and trusted partner helping clients succeed and quickly scale.
It provides commercial banking services, expertise, and insights into the technology, life science and healthcare, private equity, and venture capital industries across the UK & EMEA. Silicon Valley Bank UK’s commercial banking and lending services help address the unique needs of its dynamic, fast-growing, innovative clients.
Matt Briers, Chief Financial Officer at Wise, said: “Our mission is to create money without borders – instant, convenient, transparent and eventually free. The new facility led by Silicon Valley Bank UK will offer us flexible and efficient access to working capital. This means we can continue bringing our service to as many as possible and we can keep investing in making our payments faster, cheaper and more efficient for our millions of customers around the world.”
Thomas Easterby, Managing Director of Corporate Finance at Silicon Valley Bank UK said, “We are delighted to build on our relationship with Wise by leading and arranging this significant facility to enable the company’s next phase of growth. This financing continues our long-term relationship with Wise following the pre-IPO syndicated facility last year.”
Rosh Wijayarathna, Head of Corporate Finance, Silicon Valley Bank UK added, “Supporting innovation, innovators and their investors is in our DNA and SVB’s Corporate Finance team is thrilled to arrange this facility for Wise. We are now seeing the UK create global market leaders and the UK ecosystem maturing as a world-leading innovation hub.”
One of the valuable fintechs!
Co-founded by Kristo Kaarmann and Taavet Hinrikus in 2011 in London, Wise is one of the most valuable fintech companies. Its product range includes a debit card, a borderless account, a money transfer service, and an Application Programming Interface (API) for larger companies and bank partnerships.
Over 13 million people and businesses use Wise. Currently, it processes an average of over £8 billion in cross-border transactions every month, saving customers over £1 billion a year.
