Lovey Secures £250M Facility from Pollen Street Capital

Lovey, a prominent UK fintech specializing in SME finance, has significantly bolstered its lending capacity through a substantial £250 million senior secured credit facility. This strategic funding arrangement with alternative asset manager Pollen Street Capital represents the largest credit line in the company's history and underscores robust investor confidence in its innovative lending model and expansion strategy.

The newly established facility comprises £50 million in committed capital, with an additional £200 million available through an accordion feature. This substantial financial backing will empower Lovey to accelerate its own-book lending operations while simultaneously enhancing its established brokerage services. The fintech aims to deploy this capital to address the persistent funding gaps faced by small and medium-sized enterprises across the United Kingdom.

Since its inception in 2016 by Jack Smith, Lovey has evolved from a solo venture into a 120-person firm, facilitating over £600 million in loans to more than 11,000 UK SMEs. The company's mission to simplify and expedite the lending process has driven its rapid ascent. This latest funding injection is poised to amplify its reach, enabling quicker and more flexible access to capital for a greater number of businesses.

Lovey transitioned to direct, balance-sheet lending in 2022, leveraging its extensive brokerage experience to gain deeper insights into SME financing needs. This dual approach, combining direct lending with a broad panel of funding partners, allows Lovey to offer tailored solutions. The expanded capacity from Pollen Street Capital will be instrumental in scaling its direct lending arm, a key growth pillar for the firm.

Jack Smith, Founder and CEO of Lovey, expressed enthusiasm for the partnership, stating, "This new facility is an important milestone for us and will enable us to put more capital behind UK small businesses, scale our own-book lending and give more SMEs access to finance when they need it. Pollen Street shares our belief that finances for small businesses should be simpler, faster and more flexible, and we’re really pleased to have them backing Lovey for this next stage of growth."

Ethan Saggu, Investment Director at Pollen Street, highlighted Lovey's unique market position. "Lovey has spent almost a decade seeing the UK SME lending market from a broker’s perspective, giving the team an expert view of where demand for credit is going unmet," Saggu commented. "We have financed a number of specialist SME lenders and recognise what it takes to grow from brokerage into balance-sheet lending. Lovey has done so with a well-defined product and a focused approach, and we look forward to supporting the team as it scales."

This significant credit facility builds upon Lovey's existing funding infrastructure, which includes a £35 million revolving credit facility from Paragon Bank and a £10 million junior medium-term note programme from LGB Capital Markets. The integration of Pollen Street Capital's substantial commitment marks a pivotal moment as Lovey embarks on its next phase of expansion within the competitive UK fintech lending sector.