Mark Blandford, the founder of UK bookmaker Sportingbet, has launched a new credit
platform for small-and-medium sized businesses, aiming to 💵 “take the faff out of
finance” at a time when access to financing has become more difficult.
Together with
the former 💵 chief executive of Pay4 Rob Keown-Boyd, Blandford has set up multifi to
provide unsecured revolving credit facilities of up to 💵 £200,000 to British businesses.
The loans will have a fixed monthly access fee of 0.3 per cent and an interest 💵 rate of
1.99 per cent per month on used credit.
Small-and-medium sized businesses account for
99 per cent of the UK 💵 economy but 11 per cent of these face closure or administration
each year, the group said in a statement. The 💵 platform is aiming to alleviate cashflow
issues for these businesses, which is cited as the main reason for failure in 💵 82 per
cent of cases.
Read more: SME funding gap: Firms unable to access growth finance
The
company has raised £10m from 💵 UK-based fintech investor Fasanara Capital. It said that
further funding is lined up following the successful launch and allocation of 💵 the
initial tranche.
Read more: P2P backer Fasanara launchesR$1bn fintech fund
The firm,
where Blandford is chairman, has already provided financing to 💵 Metal Trading UK, a
global materials sourcing company.
“In the current economic climate, traditional
finance methods have proven difficult and across 💵 the market there is a reluctance to
help small businesses grow,” commented David Underwood, director at Metal Trading
UK.
“multifi is 💵 quick and straight forward. The people are very knowledgeable,
understand the different needs as an SME and most importantly, provide 💵 funding with a
viable facility. We would recommend other businesses to use them, it’s worked well for
us, and we 💵 look forward to growing our relationship with multifi in the
future.”
Keown-Boyd, chief executive at multifi, added: “Business finance is overly
💵 complex, often leading to immediate rejection for enterprises needing funding. We aim
to revolutionise this process by simplifying access to 💵 finance. Our straightforward
platform allows businesses to ascertain their borrowing capacity instantly, and with
the initial £10 million secured, we 💵 are eager to support the growth of SMBs across the
UK. We are committed to taking the faff out of 💵 finance.”
Read more: Untangled Finance
raisesR$13.5m led by Fasanara Capital
