Liberis Raises £70m in Debt Funding for SME Embedded Finance

Liberis, a U.K.-based financial technology company offering funding solutions for small businesses as an alternative to conventional bank loans or overdrafts, has secured £70 million in new capital. This funding round consists of both debt and venture debt, though the specific allocation between the two remains undisclosed, suggesting a primary focus on debt to support the loans Liberis provides.

The financing was provided by existing investors British Business Investments, Paragon Bank, and BCI Europe, alongside new investor Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). This brings the total funding raised by Liberis to £200 million, encompassing over £50 million in equity investments. According to the fintech company, the new funds will be allocated to accelerating growth, introducing new products and expanding into new markets, and enhancing financing options for customers.

Since its founding in 2007, Liberis has distributed more than £500 million in funding to 16,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Europe, the U.S., and the U.K. The company’s services are now available in five additional countries: the U.S., Finland, Sweden, Czech Republic, and Slovakia. Notably, lending activity has increased significantly, with £250 million disbursed within the last two years.

Liberis offers SMEs funding ranging from £1,000 to £300,000, determined by anticipated credit and debit card sales. A key feature of these loans is the repayment structure, which is linked to a pre-determined percentage of the business’s digital sales. Essentially, repayments are tied to the volume and speed of a business’s card transactions, with any agreed-upon minimum monthly payment also applying.

The company’s market approach has evolved towards a B2B2B model – often referred to as “embedded finance.” Liberis now primarily collaborates with marketplaces, software companies, and payment processors, including Worldpay from FIS and Global Payments. These partners integrate Liberis’ services to provide their customers with tailored, pre-approved revenue-based financing.

“Liberis’ central function is to empower partners to integrate business financing into their customer offerings,” explains Rob Straathof, CEO of Liberis, in a statement to TechCrunch. “We initiated one of the first embedded business finance partnerships globally with Worldpay from FIS in 2015, and have substantially broadened our partnerships internationally in recent years, including collaborations with Global Payments, Opayo (Sagepay), EPOS Now and Worldpay U.S.”

Straathof emphasizes that integrating Liberis’ financing platform into a partner’s existing system and customer journey allows the fintech to deliver “immediate benefits” to both partners and the SMEs they serve.

“Our streamlined single API integration provides us with valuable data from our partners, enabling Liberis to offer highly personalized and pre-approved financing to SMEs,” he clarifies. “By making financing more accessible, intuitive, and tailored for SMEs, we help our partners increase customer engagement, satisfaction, and loyalty, ultimately reducing customer churn. This creates a mutually beneficial outcome for all parties.”

Folake Shasanya, SVB’s head of EMEA warehouse financing, commented: “We are delighted to partner with Liberis as a new funding source and have been impressed by their ability to integrate financing solutions into various technology platforms and payment providers. Supporting innovation is fundamental to SVB’s mission, and we are pleased to support Liberis’ global expansion through our warehouse and venture debt products.”

This article has been updated to reflect that the funding round includes both debt and venture debt, and does not contain any pure equity funding.