Neyber’s recently closed Series C fundraise was never quite closed after all. The fintech lender has found room for the world’s pre-eminent investment bank.
Goldman Sachs has invested up to a further £100m of debt and equity capital in Neyber as part of the platform’s Series C round. Neyber has also nabbed an additional £15m of lending capital from existing investors, led by Henry Ritchotte, formerly chief operating officer at Deutsche Bank, and Gael de Boissard, head of securities at Credit Suisse.
Neyber “closed” its £21m Series C funding round in August, with Indian conglomerate Wadhawan Global Capital (WGC) taking the lead. Wadhawan also led consumer lending platform Zopa's £32m fundraise in June.
How Neyber forged its connection with Goldman is no mystery. Two of its three founders, Martin Ijaha and Monica Kalia, previously worked as investment bankers at the company.
“Goldman Sachs joins Police Mutual and WGC to create a group of core strategic investors in Neyber,” said Ijaha, who is Neyber’s CEO. “Collectively the investment and expertise these three organisations bring across areas such as capital markets, financial services and credit risk will serve to cement Neyber’s position as the leading player in the UK salary deducted lending market.”
Ijaha added that the latest injection of capital will be used to support Neyber’s planned launches with some of “the largest employers in the UK”.
Neyber partners with employers to allow them to provide their workforce with access to affordable, salary-deducted loans and financial education insights, all powered by technology. Its existing clients include the UK Police Service, London City Airport, Anglian Water, NHS Trusts and various FTSE-listed firms. It has so far saved its borrowers £14m in interest payments.
The company is also working to launch a savings proposition that will allow employees to save directly from their salary.
Dennis Beeson, a senior executive with Goldman Sachs Private Capital, commented that “employee financial wellbeing is of increasing importance to UK employers”, and described Neyber as a key player in the market.
