Australian listed-lender Wisr jumps nearly 20% after A$33.5m stock market raise

Alternative lender aims to use the capital to develop its main retail lending offering.

Marketplace lender Wisr, previously known as DirectMoney, has seen its shares leap over 19% since announcing a successful share placement last week.

Wisr raised A$33.5m on 15 January in order to develop its main retail lending offering, CEO Anthony Nantes said:

“Wisr will use the proceeds of the Placement to support the scaling of the core lending business, the ongoing development of our ecosystem of category-defining products, continue to attract the best talent from across industries in Australia and strengthen the balance sheet.”

The group currently lends to consumers between A$5,000 and A$50,000 at rates which it says are 5% lower than the country’s four main banks: ANZ, CBA, Westpac and NAB.

Nantes called the raise “a clear validation of Wisr’s strategy and vision to provide Australians with a smarter, fairer alternative when it comes to their personal finances, and our approach to redefining what a consumer lending company can be.”

Earlier this month Wisr also reported strong second-quarter results, and lifted its full-year originations target to A$54.9m, a 90% hike on its FY19.