London-based SPRK Capital, an online lending platform that helps companies in the innovation sector, announced that it has secured £3.5M (approximately €4M) in a fresh round of funding.
The company says that the round, led by a UK asset manager with an eye on social impact, represents a sizable premium over SPRK’s seed round in October 2021 and attests to the company’s dedication to sustainability.
Lending since 2022, SPRK claims to have grown and also launched its Grant Advance product to help UK SMEs with the timeliness of their grant payments.
The funding comes after SPRK’s previously announced £50M institutional funding facility earlier that year and its designation as the worldwide servicer of the Fundsquire loan portfolio in November 2022, which had been the largest UK lender in this market.
Capital utilisation
The firm says it will use the funds to further grow and invest in technology for its UK SME lending platform.
Dominick Peasley, CEO of SPRK, says, “We are extremely excited by our next phase of growth. We have attracted an experienced team and built a technology-based lending platform providing funding to SMEs to support innovation-led UK growth.”
“Our own growth in lending and loans under management has been increasing at over 100% quarter on quarter as UK SMEs look to diversify their funding sources.”
“We are proud to have provided finance to companies that are key to driving the UK’s innovation targets, supporting both social and environmental goals. This was reflected in our latest capital raise from an impact-focused asset manager,” adds Peasley.
The firm has invested across sectors such as quantum computing, energy storage and biotech research, providing loans and facilities from £50,000 to £5M.
“This level of support by our investors and demand from UK SMEs demonstrates that there is a clear need for alternative sources of capital to drive innovation-led UK growth through smart funding solutions. SPRK is well positioned to maintain its place as the go-to provider for UK innovation lending,” adds Peasley.
About SPRK Capital
When seeking grant or R&D financing, businesses frequently have to make the tough decision between dilution and an unmanageable debt load. SPRK Capital provides such UK-based companies with an alternative, non-dilutive investment option.
Their two funding options, tax credit loans and grant advance loans, assist SMEs in meeting their cash flow needs as they develop and innovate.
SPRK’s lending focuses on the four pillars of the UK’s innovation strategy:
- Empowering businesses that want to innovate
- Making the UK an exciting place for talent
- Addressing the needs of businesses throughout the country
- Encouraging innovation to address the country’s major challenges while enhancing key technological capabilities
The firm does not impose percentage-based upfront fees and its founder-friendly conditions are designed to prevent businesses from paying capital and interest for the life of the advance.
SPRK makes sure that businesses on the “cutting edge” of innovation at all phases of growth qualify for its loans by working with a panel of accounting, consultancy, and VC firms.
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