Lender ThinCats reaches £2bn funding milestone for SMEs
Alternative lender ThinCats revealed it had now provided more than £2 billion of funding to mid-sized SMEs and expects activity in the market to increase further next year.
This year, ThinCats moved its HQ to expanded offices in Birmingham following the launch of a dedicated £100 million (m) Midlands growth fund but the group noted it was dedicated to supporting growth across the whole of the UK.
Notably, two-thirds of its £2bn funding milestone has gone to businesses outside of London, reinforcing its commitment to levelling up across the country.
ThinCats chief commercial officer Mike Hackett said: "ThinCats' commitment to regional investment has been a critical driver of growth and we have built up experienced teams across our network of regional support offices, and they work hard to deliver flexible funding solutions for mid-sized businesses across the UK."
The company provides funding for growth, acquisitions, refinancing and restructuring and lends to a range of businesses from manufacturing and hospitality to those in the care sector and professional services.
In 2020, it launched its healthcare proposition which, it said, along with the sponsor franchise, had been instrumental in its continued growth and the care sector has been one where it has been most active in over recent years.
It revealed that 19.1 percent of its funding had gone to the health and care sector, 10.4 percent to hotels, restaurants and leisure, with 3.8 percent going to the media.
It noted that over 26% of its funding was used to finance acquisitions and that it consistently ranks at the top of Experian’s Market IQ M&A league tables.
"We currently rank as number 1 overall provider of debt funding to UK businesses (Q3 report), as well as leading the debt provider tables across several regions, including London, Southeast, Southwest, Midlands, Northwest and Scotland," added ThinCats.
The firm also highlighted that the UK business lending market continued to evolve, with a greater number and range of finance providers than ever before, with challenger banks and alternative lenders now collectively lending more than the four largest UK banks, according to BBB Small business finance markets report 2023/2024.
"Looking ahead to 2025, ThinCats expects to see increased activity in the market with many mid-sized SMEs looking for finance to scale up and acquire," it added.
