Ambitious line of credit provider Tradeplus24 has banked $25 million from a "pre-series B" equity raise with promise of a further $200 million in debt. Tradeplus offers a "tech-enabled line of credit' to small business borrowers using their receivables as collateral and its business model is attracting serious money from its European backers.
Existing investors Credit Suisse, SIX Group, and Berliner Volksbank joined an unnamed European family office in making the capital injection which the Swiss-headquartered fintech said will be used to fund expansion of its Australian and European operations, including launching into the UK and the Netherlands later this year.
Credit Suisse and the now-troubled Ruvercap, were among the investors in a Tradeplus24 series A funding round in February 2019. This raised an estimated A$173 million in debt and equity. Adding in a further CHF100 million from boutique investor Oceano One in 2017, Tradeplus24 has so far been provided with over A$200 million in total debt facilities.
The group, with its debt facility now backed by Credit Suisse, plans to increase this to $400 million by the end of 2021 as it eyes "potential strategic acquisitions".
Tradeplus24 Australia managing director, and former NAB business banker, Adam Lane, has been in the role since early 2019.
“On top of our global roll out, we have already been investing heavily in growing our Australian team, which has doubled in the last 4 months, and in our technology, including creating bespoke solutions for priority segments," Lane said.
Lane said his team will be looking to lend their SME borrowers amounts ranging from $500,000 to $10 million.
Tradeplus24 was founded in Zurich in 2016. In a media release announcing its latest funding round, the fintech said its global team also doubled in size during 2021, and the Australian business trebled customer numbers in Q2 2021.
The firm is planning to run a series B funding round "in early 2022" and will look to add a local Australian investor to complement its heavyweight international backers.