Praetura trebles loan book and secures second funding deal with major bank
Manchester-based business lender Praetura Commercial Finance has trebled its loan book to over £400m secured a £200m asset-based lending securitisation facility provided by Barclays to further fund its SME lending book.
The Barclays facility, secured alongside sister company Zodeq, comes on top of an asset finance securitisation facility of £160m from NatWest.
The funding also makes Praetura the only specialist finance company in the UK to have two separate securitisation facilities in place for both sales finance and asset finance from two major institutional banks, following its asset finance securitisation facility of £160m from NatWest.
The news comes off the back of sustained growth for the Praetura Lending Division, with the group trebling its loan book – the amount it has lent to the 4,500 businesses it’s currently supporting – to £400m over the last three years.
To meet the rising demand for SME finance, spanning asset refinancing to invoice discounting, Praetura Lending has also expanded its team size, employing over 150 people across its offices in Manchester, Wilmslow, Cheshire, Blackburn and Milton Keynes.
The deal enhances Praetura’s ability to meet rising demand for alternative lending, and the business expects to support an 1,000 additional SMEs each year.
In 2023 TheBusinessDesk.com reported on the launch of research from Praetura which found almost three-fifths (59%) of UK businesses say access to capital has decreased in the last five years, and that 43% report that it is one of the biggest challenges they face.
The research features in Praetura’s report – Fund the Gap: Financing Futures for UK SMEs – which analyses the state of the funding landscape for UK SMEs. The report features contributions from major business leaders, finance experts and the SME community including British Business Bank, NACFB, EY and others and highlighted the need for greater education amongst businesses about the £22.1bn asset finance market.
The research behind the report revealed that three in five (59%) SMEs and their brokers surveyed say that it is more difficult now to access the funding they need to grow than in the last five years, as a funding crunch hits Britain’s small businesses.
In addition, figures from the British Business Bank’s Small Business Finance Markets Report, found over a third (36%) of small business loan applications were unsuccessful in 2022.
The Praetura Lending Division, which was founded in 2013, comprises Praetura Asset Finance, Praetura Commercial Finance, Kingsway Finance and Zodeq.
Peadar O’Reilly, Praetura Lending Division CEO, said: “By working with forward thinking institutions, such as Barclays, we are able to bring down the barriers to capital for thousands of UK businesses. Delivering this facility was a real collaboration between our treasury team, management and advisors Stuart Mogg & Jenna Picken. It would also not have been possible without the functionality and reporting capability of our proprietary technology platform Praeview.”
Gordon Beck, European Head of Corporate & Sustainable Securitisation at Barclays, said: “We are pleased to support Praetura with this sales finance securitisation facility which emphasises Barclays commitment to supporting thriving SME businesses in our UK home market.”
