French lender October raises €258m to bolster European SMEs 

The alternative lender has already divided up the cash for specific lending programmes across Europe. 

SME lending platform October (formerly Lendix) has raised €258m (~£235m) to lend to European SMEs. 

The alternative lender has already divided up the cash with €20m being put aside for its classic loans to SMEs from all sectors in every country it currently operates in. 

An additional €38m has been pigeonholed for the funding of six large insurance companies in the tourism industry in France, with the deferred repayment loans being used to support the hotel and catering industry. 

The remaining €200m has been set aside as part of an Italian government-backed loan scheme. October is supplying the funds, which solely came from Intesa Sanpaolo Group, the largest banking group in Italy, to Italian SMEs by the end of 2020. 

Olivier Goy, founder and CEO of October, said: "These investors were all attracted by October's technology, which allows them to deploy large amounts of money efficiently, while respecting standardised processes, following precise and tailor-made risk policies and relying on 5 years of accumulated data for more reliable decisions.” 

With the pot of cash, October will offer loans, ranging from between €30,000 up to €5m, to small businesses in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain. 

Patrick de Nonneville, COO of October, added: "This money is immediately available for the companies involved in France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Germany, all in an ultra-simple and fast process, which is the trademark of October's loan technology." 

To date, October has facilitated loans worth over €460m (£420m) to more than 1,000 SMEs for development projects of all sizes and in all sectors.