Venture debt provider Silicon Valley Bank UK has awarded a €30 million loan to UK-based SME receivables finance provider Liberis.
Liberis's machine learning-powered software screens SME applicants for finance. Part of the embedded finance category, the service has been accessed by over 23,000 SMEs to receive almost €1 billion in total liquidity.
The finance is marketed as an advance on an SME's receivables account, repaid from inbound invoices.
Liberis is growing presence around Europe, for instance across the Nordic region, Poland and Germany. BNPL heavyweight Klarna selected the platform in June 2021 to provide e-commerce financing in 17 countries. With the latest funding, euro-denominated debt through Liberis will be expanded along with Swedish and Danish crowns.
Since inception in 2007, Liberis has raised €430 million including more than €80 million in equity. SVB UK's fellow investors include Barclays, BCI Finance and UK-based venture builder Blenheim Chalcot.
Conor Sheehy, Silicon Valley Bank UK managing director and head of warehouse finance in EMEA, said: "We’re delighted to be working with Liberis as the team accelerates the business into new European territories and beyond.
"SME owners play a key role in driving the economy forward, and Liberis is supporting small businesses by giving access to reliable and sound capital to support their growth.
"We look forward to working with Liberis to help them improve their customers’ probability of success as they extend their essential services into new geographies.”
Rob Straathof, CEO, Liberis, added: "Thanks to the debt financing provided by Silicon Valley Bank UK, Liberis can continue its expansion into new territories across Europe with new and existing embedded finance partners, further supporting small businesses with flexible funding options.”
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