Participated · Debt Financing · Dec 2020

Liberis operates an AI and machine learning-powered embedded finance platform that delivers personalised, flexible funding to small businesses. The company distributes finance through global partners including payment acquirers, neobanks, e-commerce platforms and financial institutions. Through these partnerships Liberis has funded over $1.5 billion across more than 60,000 transactions. Liberis recently secured $112M in debt financing from HSBC Innovation Banking and BCI Capital to support further growth in North America and Europe and expansion into new markets such as Canada, Germany, and Poland. Total funding from capital providers and investors has reached over $700M to date, with equity backers including Barclays, Blenheim Chalcot, and FTV Capital. Led by CEO Rob Straathof, the company intends to use the new facility to serve more business owners via its embedded finance platform. Liberis builds an embedded business finance platform that enables partners to offer personalised and accessible funding to small and medium-sized enterprises. The platform applies machine learning to assess a customer’s risk profile and available funding options, enabling higher origination volumes and giving SME owners greater financial control. Founded in 2007 and led by CEO Rob Straathof, Liberis has provided over 23,000 SMEs with finance totaling almost €1 billion. The company has raised a total of €430M to date, including over €80M in equity funding. Liberis plans to use the new financing to expand into Germany, Poland and beyond and to offer finance to customers in EUR, SEK and DKK to reduce foreign-exchange exposure. Liberis provides advances from £1,000 to £300,000 to SMEs and structures repayment as a pre-agreed percentage of the business’s card and digital transactions, tying repayments to cash flow. Its core product evaluates projected card sales and offers personalised, pre-approved finance through a single API integration. The company has shifted its go-to-market toward B2B2B embedded finance, partnering with marketplaces, software providers and acquirers to embed financing into their customer experiences. Notable partners include Worldpay (FIS), Global Payments, Opayo (Sagepay), EPOS Now and Worldpay U.S. Liberis has provided over £500M in financing to 16,000 SMEs across Europe, the U.S. and the U.K., with £250M lent in the past two years and product availability in five new countries (U.S., Finland, Sweden, Czech Republic and Slovakia). The company plans to use new funding to fuel growth, launch new products and markets, and provide additional customer financing solutions. Founded in 2007 and U.K.-based, Liberis reports a total of £200M in funding to date, including more than £50M in equity. Liberis operates a Funding-as-a-Service platform that has provided over £450 million in financing to more than 15,000 small businesses since its 2007 founding. The company expands distribution via strategic partnerships and white-labeling its financial services for partners that serve small-business customers. Over the last 18 months Liberis says it has expanded into five new countries, listing the UK, US, Sweden, Czech Republic, Slovak and Finland. The business recently closed a £32 million funding round led by FTV Capital, bringing its total debt and equity funding to over £150 million. Management plans for 2020 include growing its US footprint, entering two more European countries, and increasing headcount by about 30 percent. Liberis has appointed General Managers for the US (Howard Kramen) and Europe (Pedram Tadayon) to strengthen global operations. Liberis is a London-based fintech that provides funding to small businesses by advancing capital against projected future credit and debit card sales. Loans range from £1,000 to £500,000 and are repaid via a pre-agreed percentage of a business’s card transactions, with no fixed repayment term. That repayment structure is particularly attractive to seasonal retail and hospitality businesses because payments scale with revenue. Liberis pulls transaction and payments data from partners such as Worldpay and Sagepay, integrates with marketplaces like Just Eat, and expects Open Banking to extend its reach. The company says it has supported over 7,000 small businesses and advanced £210 million in funding to date. CEO Rob Straathof acknowledges Liberis takes on more risk with this model but reports the vast majority of loans are repaid within projected timeframes.