SME lender secures £75m lending facility from NatWest

Having already received £30m in funding from NatWest, the latest financing builds on Praetura Asset Finance Group’s existing loan book of more than £100m

The Group recently acquired Cheshire-based Kingsway Finance in a seven-figure deal and now plans to pass its target of a £250m loan book by 2021.

Peadar O’Reilly, founding director of Praetura Asset Finance Group, commented: “This securitisation is an exciting development for Praetura, not least because it validates the quality of our loan book and the talent of our team. With our debt rated for public markets, it forms a platform for organic growth and gives us further capability to enhance that growth through the acquisition of complementary businesses and/or teams. We're an ambitious company; we set Praetura Asset Finance up five years ago and we now have a loan book of over £100m. This inaugural securitisation will help us grow the company significantly and continue to achieve new ambitions.”

George Ross, director of financial institutions origination and solutions at NatWest Markets, said: "We are pleased to have helped Praetura with a financing solution to meet its growth ambitions. This rated facility is a key step towards enabling Praetura to access capital markets for a public debt issuance in the future.”