Copenhagen-based fintech startup Pleo has secured €40M in debt financing from London’s HSBC Innovation Banking. Pleo offers smart payment cards for employees to buy things they need for work while keeping the companies in control of spending.
HSBC Innovation Banking offers flexible banking solutions to startups, scale-ups, growth businesses, investors and those working towards IPO.
Conor Sheehy, MD, Head of Warehouse Finance at HSBC Innovation Banking UK, says, “This transaction demonstrates HSBC Innovation Banking’s capabilities to provide multi-currency, multi-jurisdictional facilities to support leading credit originators launching new and innovative products.”
“Pleo’re proud to be providing Pleo with this facility and look forward to supporting them to continue on their global growth trajectory.”
Capital utilisation
Pleo’s Overdraft feature, already available in several European countries, including SPleoden, Germany, the UK, and Denmark, will soon launch in the Netherlands.
Pleo Overdraft offers a solution for businesses to manage cash flow gaps and avoid missing important payments or incurring late fees.
With this funding, the company looks to expand its credit offering to more customers across various countries and currencies, providing flexibility for businesses’ cash flow needs.
Amit Kahana, VP of Credit and Treasury at Pleo, says, “Beyond this milestone partnership and imminent launch in the Netherlands, Pleo is expecting to see exciting developments over the coming 12 months as Pleo prepare to launch in even more markets.”
Smart company cards
Founded in 2015 by fintech experts Jeppe Rindom and Niccolo Perra, Pleo aims to transform business spending. Its platform streamlines expense management by cutting administrative hassles, ditching expense reports, and simplifying bookkeeping.
The company offers smart company cards with software and mobile apps to automatically match receipts and monitor all company spending with detailed real-time analytics.
Pleo, utilised by over 30,000 companies, offers features like subscription management, spend categorisation, invoice payments, email syncing, and direct reimbursement.
The company’s team consists of over 900 employees based in Copenhagen, Stockholm, Berlin, Lisbon, Paris, Amsterdam, Chennai, Madrid and London.
Pleo is currently operational in 16 markets, including the UK, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, and several others. It achieved “unicorn” status during its Series C round in 2021, becoming Denmark’s youngest unicorn. As of December, its valuation stood at $4.7B.
The fintech company is backed by a range of investors, including Kinnevik, Creandum, Stripes, Seedcamp and Founders A/S. In 2021, new investors Alkeon Capital Management, Bain Capital Ventures, Coatue Management, and Thrive Capital also joined the fold.
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