Iwoca lands £270m debt funding package from Citibank and Barclays

UK-based SME lender Iwoca has secured a debt funding package totaling £270 million to address the increasing demand for finance from small businesses.
The funding includes a joint commitment of £150 million from Citibank and Insight Investment to support Iwoca’s growth in Germany.
Additionally, a further £120 million arrangement with Barclays and US-based Värde Partners will be utilized to scale operations in the UK.
Last October, Barclays, and Värde Partners provided Iwoca with a £200 million debt facility.
Iwoca, launched in 2012, offers embedded lending solutions allowing small businesses to access loans through third-party platforms and neobanks.
The company has provided £3 billion in loans to SMEs since inception, including £200 million across 9,000 business loans in the last quarter.
According to Iwoca’s SME Expert Index, 76% of brokers reported a decrease in SME funding from banks, while 86% anticipated an increase in demand for funding.
Christoph Rieche, CEO and co-founder of Iwoca highlights the flexibility and speed of its Flexi-Loan service as a key advantage, emphasizing that the investment will enable the company to meet high demand from small businesses.
Iwoca has processed over 130,000 small business loans to date, leveraging ample data through risk modeling to cater to businesses beyond the restrictions of traditional banks.