London-based Liberis raises €76.8M to help SMEs survive the pandemic; here’s how

London-based embedded business finance platform Liberis has secured £70M (nearly €76.8M) in financing from long-term partners British Business Investments,  Paragon Bank, BCI Europe, as well as financing and venture debt from new partner Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). 

Financing of a business finance platform

According to the company, the new funds will be used to fuel company growth, launch new products and markets, and provide additional customer financing solutions. With this new round, Liberis’ total funds raised has hit a total of £200M (approx €219.3M), including over £50m (€54.8M) in equity funding. 

British Business Investments is the trading name of British Business Investments Ltd, a wholly-owned commercial subsidiary of British Business Bank plc, the UK government’s economic development bank. It forms part of the British Business Bank’s commercial arm.

“Our significant growth in the past two years has highlighted the need in the market for SME support, especially during uncertain times. As an SME ourselves, we understand the plight and have survived an economic downturn. With uncertainty in the market, funding can be hard to access from more risk-averse institutions. We are thrilled to have extra resources to help our partners support SMEs’ survival through COVID and beyond,” comments Rob Straathof, CEO of Liberis. 

More about the platform

Founded in 2007, Liberis claims to provide partners with the technology platform and financial solutions to empower hyper-personalised, fair funding for their small business customers, reaching 1M SMEs. 

According to the company, its global partner network consists of marketplaces, software providers and acquirers, such as Worldpay from FIS and Global Payments. “These partners integrate with Liberis to offer up to 1m SMEs personalised pre-approved revenue-based financing for up to £300,000 (nearly €329,090). Payments are linked to a company’s transactions, enabling them to pay for the funds more comfortably, in line with income,” says the company in a press release. 

COVID relief

It’s no secret that small businesses around the world suffered a devastating blow due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Liberis claims to have conducted a survey of 200 of its customers to better understand their plight. As per the survey results shared by the company, half were forced to shut down and 37 per cent were most concerned with the loss of revenue and customers, with their biggest challenge being cash flow. Thirty-six per cent said it was harder to get approved for funding from traditional lenders such as banks.

Therefore, the London-based startup launched a new CBILS loan product in May, providing financial support to SMEs, across the UK, that are facing revenue loss and cashflow disruptions a result of the Covid-19 outbreak.

The company claims that in the past two years, it has increased its funding for SMEs by 40 per cent, launched in five new countries, and added several new partners. “Liberis has provided over half a billion pounds (£500M or nearly €548.5M) in financing to 16,000 SMEs across Europe, USA and UK, including £250M (€274.2M) in the past two years alone,” says the company.