The SME focused P2P lending platform ThinCats now loans up to £10m to firms. ThinCats has announced a new funding deal for up to £300m with global asset manager Insight Investment to fund UK SMEs with commercial loans. Insight Investment has more than £600bn of assets under management and is a part of BNY Mellon group. On top of £300m from existing investors, ThinCats now has a potential £600m to fund UK SMEs with loans now from £100,000 to £10m. ThinCats says its lending focus provides funding of up to five years to companies with asset backing or reliable cash flows normally to meet working capital, acquisition, refinance or growth demands. Damon Walford, chief development officer at ThinCats, says the new programme puts the firm "right in the mix with traditional lenders.” “We have responded to a market need to provide lending at a cost of capital that reflects the lower risk associated with established strong businesses and thereby offer a real alternative to bank funding. By combining big data and technology, with dynamic credit and client servicing skills, we are simplifying traditional lending models." Shaheer Guirguis, Head of Secured Finance at Insight Investment says that in an era in which banks are retrenching from certain lending markets due to regulatory considerations institutional investors such as pension funds and insurance companies can step in. “Our secured finance strategy continues to seek compelling assets that provide our clients with complexity premium above comparably-rated corporate credit securities.”
Insight Investment has undertaken to provide ThinCats with £300m ($392m) of funding, taking the SME lender's potential lending pool to £600m. The company is also looking for a new chief executive and will be seeking candidates from within its existing management team.