An alterantive business lending platform has raised £7.5m in a scale-up investment round to boost its loans for smalls firms preparing for Brexit.
London-based Growth Street offers an alternative to bank overdrafts for growing businesses.
The company’s GrowthLine product, powered by Open Banking and cloud accounting integrations, delivers flexible facilities up to £2m.
The company says UK overdraft borrowing has fallen by £18bn from 2008 to 2018, since the financial crisis began.
“New regulations and technologies are driving rapid change within business lending,” said Growth Street co-founder and CEO Greg Carter.
“In a short period we have proven that ambitious businesses can thrive with GrowthLine. We are now working to expand access to GrowthLine and strike new relationships throughout the financial services ecosystem.
“I’m delighted Merian and leading investors share our view that business owners deserve better.”
Thomas Hoegh, Growth Street co-founder and investor, said:
“Having built and backed more than 50 tech businesses, I have experienced entrepreneurs’ struggles first-hand. With Growth Street, we give business owners the financial flexibility they need, right when they need it. As businesses scale over the coming years, Growth Street will be there to support them.”
App-only bank Starling added Growth Street to its marketplace of third-party products last year. It was the first SME finance provider to go live on the marketplace.