London-listed fintech Wise has secured £300m in new financing, in the form of a syndicated debt facility arranged by California’s Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).
The debt investment featured participation from six banks in addition to SVB. Wise said the cash will be to fund growth plans but did not go into any specifics.
Founded in 2011, Wise – originally called TransferWise – is a London-based startup specialising in international money transfers.
After a period of rapid growth in the 2010s, Wise went public on the London Stock Exchange in July 2021 with an initial value of $11bn (£9.5bn).
“The new facility led by Silicon Valley Bank UK will offer us flexible and efficient access to working capital,” said Matt Briers, chief financial officer at Wise.
“This means we can continue bringing our service to as many as possible and we can keep investing in making our payments faster, cheaper, and more efficient for our millions of customers around the world.”
Wise first secured debt financing from SVB in 2018 to support the growth of the company. A spokesperson for Wise told UKTN the new funds were for the purpose of “extending the line of credit” to ensure “we’ve got the facilities to handle our considerably bigger customer base”.
The British fintech reported a 50% increase in customers in its most recent trading update.
“We are delighted to build on our relationship with Wise by leading and arranging this significant facility to enable the company’s next phase of growth,” said Thomas Easterby, managing director of corporate finance at Silicon Valley Bank UK.
“This financing continues our long-term relationship with Wise following the pre-IPO syndicated facility last year.”
In June, the Financial Conduct Authority launched an investigation into Wise CEO, Kristo Käärmann over an alleged tax breach.
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