SME lending platform acquired by ESF Capital

ThinCats has lent more than £140m to UK businesses in five years of operation. ESF invests in, and underwrites the loans on, select European P2P platforms, and brings operational expertise to accelerate the growth of such platforms. It is backed by leading UK and US institutions, and is the initiative of European specialist investment company, ESO Capital. ThinCats and ESF have been working together for a number of months and have a detailed plan to accelerate ThinCats’ market presence.

ESF has purchased a 73.4% equity stake from existing owners of ThinCats and is providing valuable investment capital for the ThinCats platform, together with underwriting capital for loans. ThinCats’ focus on experienced private investor funding of UK businesses remains a cornerstone of the ongoing business, which will be enhanced through ESF’s capital and deep institutional financial services expertise.

ESF’s CEO, John Mould, has taken on the role of CEO of ThinCats with overall responsibility for driving the business’ growth strategy and delivering a raft of benefits for borrowers and lenders. Founder Kevin Caley remains instrumental in the future of the business as Chairman with responsibility for innovation and Peter Brown retains his post as Finance Director.

The investment from ESF will allow ThinCats to carry out planned platform improvements and develop new products to help expand ThinCats’ footprint in the UK. A newly revamped platform will significantly improve the user journey for current ThinCats users, while a planned pipeline of product developments will seek to attract a broader range of investors.

Increased lending capacity together with ESF’s loan underwriting capability will ensure ThinCats can attract more quality SME borrowers onto the platform and in turn provide lenders much greater breadth and depth of loan choice. ESF will also strengthen ThinCats’ internal due diligence capabilities, reviewing and categorising the quality of each loan, enhancing the detailed vetting already carried out by ThinCats’ Sponsors, who originate business on the platform.

Kevin Caley, Founder and Chairman of ThinCats said:

“Over the past five years, ThinCats has become highly valued by a network of hundreds of experienced DIY investors who bring a unique ‘crowd due diligence’ to the platform in return for market-leading interest rates. This investment by ESF is the fuel we need to take the ThinCats platform up a gear, to retain and extend this core lender base and to attract a broader range of investors. It’s a big step forward for the platform, and will allow ThinCats to cement its place as one of the UK’s big four peer to peer providers.”

John Mould, newly appointed CEO of ThinCats said:

“ThinCats sits on unique foundations. It has the largest average loan size in the sector, and has been first to market with a number of innovative financial products. The injection of capital and expertise we are bringing to the platform from ESF will focus on strengthening these foundations, pushing loan sizes higher, and developing both products and platform to attract a wide range of investors. The peer to peer lending industry is truly coming of age, and today one of the longest of tooth gets a little sharper.”