Small-business lending marketplace Lendio has closed a $20.5 million funding round to grow its team and partnerships, the company announced on Tuesday (March 24).
The Series C round was led by Napier Park Financial Partners Group, with participation from Blumberg Capital, North Hill Ventures and Pivot Investment Partners, and existing investors Tribeca Venture Partners, Runa Capital and Highway 12 Ventures. The new money brings Lendio’s total funding to $33 million.
Lendio will use the funding to increase its online lending innovation, deepen relationships with the roughly 100 lenders on its marketplace, expand its partnership program and grow its team of loan advisors, the company said. Napier Park Managing Partner Dan Kittredge and Blumberg Capital Principal Chris Gottschalk will join Lendio’s board as part of the deal.
Lendio is part of the wave of tech-powered lending marketplaces that has only gained momentum since the December IPO that gave Lending Club a $9 billion valuation. Unlike Lending Club, which primarily handles consumer loans, Lendio’s aim is “to be the Kayak for small-business loans,” Lendio CEO Brock Blake told Bloomberg News.
Along with its network of lenders, Lendio has also struck deals with some retailers to refer potential borrowers to the marketplace, including the UPS Store and Staples, which announced a lending-based business initiative in late February.
“Lendio has become the go-to hub for small-business owners to obtain the financing they need to grow and thrive,” Blake said in a prepared statement. “Our focus is to provide three essential benefits to the business owner — offer a wide variety of loan options, speed up the process and reduce the time and effort it requires to get funded and provide a white-glove trusted experience. Because we have served hundreds of thousands of business owners, we’ve been able to scale our business and improve the lending experience through an easy-to-use online matching platform, advanced machine learning and lender integrations.”
Aside from the number of businesses that Lendio has arranged loans for through its marketplace, Blake wouldn’t say how much loan volume Lendio has arranged, what the company’s current valuation is or whether it is profitable.
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