Manchester FinTech Firenze has raised £2.5m seed funding led by the backer of Curve.
The firm aiming to redefine Lombard lending revealed the round led by Outward VC – which has also backed PrimaryBid and Vauban – and featuring early stage FinTech investors Form Ventures and Portfolio Ventures.
Firenze, launched in January 2024 by co-founders David Newman and Anna Curtis, is an embedded finance platform allowing wealth managers to offer loans from as little as £65,000 secured against clients’ investment portfolios.
Because borrowing is secured lending with highly liquid collateral, Lombard lending offers lower interest rates compared to typical unsecured loans and allows decisions to be made in hours rather than weeks or months.
These so-called Lombard loans have typically only been available to clients of private banks who have, as a minimum, £1m of investments.
Firenze is already collaborating with leading wealth managers overseeing circa £75bn in assets under management.
The firm is aiming to open up over £1bn in Lombard lending for mass affluent investors over the next three years.
‘Cut the bullsh*t’: Advice from entrepreneur buying out Lord Sugar
“We are thrilled to have Outward, Form, Portfolio Ventures and an incredible range of angel investors backing our vision to broaden access to Lombard lending,” said Newman.
“Market demand has far exceeded our expectations and this funding enables us to accelerate Firenze’s rollout to more wealth managers, support their advisors and drive awareness on the benefits of Lombard lending.
“Having Andi [Kazeroonian, principal, Outward VC] and the Outward team lead this round is a privilege. From the outset, it was clear we shared a vision for building a category defining, venture-scale leader in Lombard lending.
“Firenze is at the forefront of this market and this investment allows us to move even faster toward that goal.”
Kazeroonian added: “Outward has a long-standing thesis around the power of combining technology, networks and innovative structures to open up exclusive financial products to a much larger audience whilst also transforming the user experience.
“Firenze is the embodiment of this, bringing to market a highly demanded solution that acts as a clear win-win-win for borrowers, wealth managers and funders. David and his talented team have executed at an exceptional velocity to bring this vision to life and we are delighted to support them on their journey to build the next category defining FinTech.”