European banks provide £135m funding to UK online lending startup

MarketInvoice has emerged as one of the UK’s top so-called peer-to-peer lenders

The biggest online lenders originated almost £3bn in loans for consumers and companies (Getty)

Undeterred by the uncertainty around Brexit, a pair of banks from continental Europe have agreed to provide £135m in funding to MarketInvoice, the London-based online lender.

Banco BNI Europa, a Portuguese digital bank, will make £90m available for loans distributed via MarketInvoice’s website, the UK company said in a statement Monday. The bank’s outlay comes on top of £73.3m it’s already provided the firm.

Varengold Bank, a Hamburg-based lender, will put £45m on MarketInvoice’s platform, doubling an investment made in September.

MarketInvoice arranges working capital loans for thousands of British companies secured by money owed by debtors. Originating £2bn in loans since it was set up in 2010, the firm has emerged as one of the UK’s top so-called peer-to-peer lenders. Institutional investors have funded more than half the loans on its platform.

Britain’s online lending industry has showed few signs of stress since voters chose to quit the European Union in a referendum in June 2016. Last year, the biggest players originated almost £3bn in loans for consumers and companies, a 53 per cent jump from 2016, according to the Peer to Peer Finance Association, a London trade group.

“The volume and value of invoices we’re funding is higher than ever before”, said MarketInvoice chief executive Anil Stocker.

“This is all down to businesses choosing diversity in funding source. Our growing institutional investor base on the platform has enabled us to support a broader pool of businesses”.

Bloomberg