Assetz Capital gave £370m boost to SMEs through CBILS

Peer-to-peer lender Assetz Capital dished out £370m to UK SMEs through the government-backed Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).

Assetz Capital first gained accreditation to the government scheme back in May 2020, becoming one of the first fintechs to have been given the go-ahead to offer CBILS loans, until the scheme wound down in March 2021.

The alternative lender’s funding for its CBILS loans was led by Nordic finance provider Aros Kapital, continuing an ongoing relationship with the institutional funding partner.

“CBILS has been hugely successful in getting funds to the SMEs that needed it. The pandemic hit many SMEs hard, but arming specialists like ourselves with a government-backed scheme was a solid strategy that has paid off,” Stuart Law, CEO of Assetz Capital said. 

“Our substantial track record has allowed us to attract institutional investors like Aros Kapital as long-term funding partners, meaning SMEs across the UK have an alternative to the banks when it comes to accessing finance. Our loan issuance run rate approached £700m annually in the pandemic and even though the CBILS deadline has now passed, together with our funding partners we plan to build on that level of support for SMEs based on a very healthy pipeline.” 

Alongside backing from Aros Kapital, Assetz also secured £40m in two parts from British Business Investments, the commercial subsidiary of the British Business Bank.

The first £15m came in March 2020 just before Covid-19 took hold and the second £25m in October 2020.

“As evidenced by the pace of our deployment under CBILS, leveraging our joint underwriting capabilities, we believe that we are in a very good position to continue to deliver attractive financing solutions across sectors and at significant scale to UK SMEs,” Gustav Rocklinger, CEO of Aros Kapital Limited, added.

“The UK SME market is a core growth area for our business and we will continue to build our market presence, in collaboration with Assetz Capital. Our backing of Assetz Capital's CBILS lending programme demonstrates that commitment and showcases the strength of our capital base and ability to deploy this, quickly and with certainty to our funding partners.”   

Since it was founded back in 2013, Assetz Capital has now lent over £1.5bn, with the alternative lender hoping to lend its next billion by the end of 2022, a goal it is very much on its way towards.