Alex McCracken/Capchase.
News Alternative Lending
Capchase picks London as European HQ after six-month growth surge
Former Silicon Valley Bank senior, Alex McCracken, will take up the reins in the lender’s new London office.
US lender for startups, Capchase, has picked London as its European headquarters following a six-month $200m lending spree to UK companies. Its first hire is ex-Silicon Valley Bank senior, Alex McCracken, who takes up the position of Head of Venture Relationships in the London office.
McCracken will lead Capchase’s relationships with venture capital funds in Europe and is soon to be supported by a team of 15 that the lender plans to hire over the next two months.
This news comes following a period of strong European growth for Capchase, having expanded into the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden and Finland just within the past two months. In the UK, Capchase has enjoyed a surge in demand, triggering the hike in funding made available to UK startups.
“Being a former entrepreneur, VC and then a lender has given me experience on all sides of fundraising,” said McCracken. “Since Capchase is half the cost of venture debt and requires no security or warrants, I can see why demand for Capchase’s range of non-dilutive funding products is so high.”
Capchase provides financing for startups with recurring revenues – such as subscriptions – without requiring them to dilute their equity.
The company says it aims to support greater diversity in the startup ecosystem, estimating that 15 per cent of the capital it has provided has been to underrepresented groups, such as female or minority-led startups; a statistic it claims sets it apart from venture capital companies.
“While there’s still much more work to be done, we’re delighted that this is significantly higher than the averages for VC deals,” said Henrik Grim, MD of Europe at Capchase. “It shows that the Capchase model opens the door to many more founders to secure capital.”
With Europe now accounting for 25 per cent of Capchase’s business, the lender sees London as a “launchpad for further expansion”.
“Expanding in the UK and appointing Alex is the latest in a series of major milestones for Capchase in an incredibly short period of time,” Grim continued. “Our new London HQ will give us an even greater presence right at the heart of Europe’s tech and financial industries.
