Ten-fold Borrowing Increase Drives UK B2B Lender MarketFinance to Profit

MarketFinance saw its business reach profitability in 2021, with a revenue increase of 133%, the U.K. business lender announced in a Thursday (March 31) press release.

The company hopes to build on this growth by developing lending application programming interfaces (APIs) and is “investing significantly in embedded finance models,” as it works to become a “unicorn” (a private company worth $1 billion), the release stated.

“In a market where profits often come second to growth, we are extremely proud to say we have reached this important profitability milestone,” said MarketFinance CEO Anil Stocker in the release. “Our track record as a B2B credit provider over the last decade, together with our focus on refining our lending APIs, and working toward launching more payment and credit options for B2B marketplaces, stands us in good stead to build a much larger company. We’re still very early in our long-term journey.”

The company’s growth was fueled by rising demand for working capital by small businesses during the pandemic, and helped along by MarketFinance’s launch of the government-backed Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) loans and its accreditation as a delivery partner of the Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS), according to the release.

Both programs saw MarketFinance handle more than 2.1 billion British pounds (about $2.8 billion) in digital applications “with the fastest speed of decision in the market — currently, 100% of applicants hear back in less than 24 hours,” the release stated.

The company said that growth happened in tandem with its decision to “double down on existing strategic partnerships with Barclays Bank UK … and international cash management experts Ebury,” according to the release. In addition, MarketFinance is launching new strategic partnerships with accountancy and business advisory firm Azets along with enterprise merchants across various sectors.

Last year, MarketFinance raised 280 million euros ($368 million) in new funding to lend to companies in need in the wake of the pandemic. It also launched a new program, MarketFinance Flex Loans, with the goal of helping nearly 1 million small U.K. businesses solve funding gaps.

Read more: UK FinTech MarketFinance Raises $382M in Debt, Equity