France-based SME lending platform Lendix has raised USD13.5 million in a series B funding round led by CNP Assurances.
Its existing shareholders inckuding Decaux Frères Investissements, Partech Ventures, Sycomore Factory, Weber Investissement et Banque Wormser Frères also took part in the round, together with institutional investors Matmut and Zencap AM, a subsidiary of OFI AM.
This capital raise also comes with significant commitments in excess of USD22 million to lend on the platform via its new fund, Lendix SME Loan Fund II.
Hélène Falchier, head of Private Equity Investments at CNP Assurances, will become a member of the board. She joins Xavier Anthonioz (CEO of 123Venture), Philippe Citerne (director, Accor and Edenred), Philippe Collombel (managing partner of Partech Ventures), Gérard Degonse (chairman of JC Decaux SA’s supervisory board), Christian Gueugnier (Executive Vice President of Financière de l’Echiquier) and Pascal Oddo (chairman of LBO France’s supervisory board).
"We’re delighted to welcome such prominent investors; their partnership with Lendix is a strong expression of trust in our ambition to revolutionize SME lending,” says Olivier Goy, founder and president of Lendix. “We have many streams of collaboration with them in France, Spain and Italy which will benefit our lenders and our borrowers.”
“This first investment in the Fintech sector is based on our confidence in Lendix’s ability to expand its leading position in France but also in other markets in Continental Europe,” says Hélène Falchier, head of Private Equity Investments at CNP Assurances.
"With our OPEN CNP program, we are bringing the firm’s capabilities to new partners, primarily to identify innovative companies. This operation, which is the first in the program, fits particularly well with our Digital Transformation strategy" said Magali Noé, chief digital officer of CNP Assurances.
Nicolas Gomart, Chief Executive Officer of Groupe Matmut, says: "Growth in the SME insurance market is a strategic imperative for the Group. We’re also very focused on the impact of new technologies, and the transformation they bring to businesses and society. Finally, Groupe Matmut has always kept a strong focus on the development of the ‘real economy’. These are the main drivers of our investment in Lendix."
"We’re very impressed by the development of Lendix – confirming our view on the quality of the team, held even before the company launched. It has become leader within 12 months while producing safe returns for lenders. It has the right setup for rapid international growth, which we’re pleased to support,” says Philippe Collombel, managing partner of Partech Ventures and a seed investor in Lendix. “We have increased our participation with a USD3.5m investment in this round."
Since completing its first loan in April 2015 to Alain Ducasse Entreprise, Lendix has taken a solid leadership position in the SME marketplace space by becoming No1 in France with 40 per cent market share. Without including the recent acquisition of short term loans specialist platform Finsquare, the Lendix community has financed $22m worth of loans to close to 100 SMEs.
"The French market is experiencing rapid growth, but our ambition is to create a leader in Continental Europe. We have recently created our Spanish and Italian subsidiaries and we are building our teams on the ground" said Patrick de Nonneville, COO of Lendix.
Lendix plans to reach the milestone of USD56 million lent during the next 12 months. “As it has been the case since our launch, those loans will be financed by our community of 10,000 private lenders and by institutional investors, co-lending to SMEs,” says Goy.
To achieve this growth, a new fund, Lendix SME Loan Fund II, will be launched next month; and 20 new team members will be hired across France, Spain and Italy to expand the current 30-strong team.
