Three private equity experts are partnering to form LendTech Capital Partners (LendTech), a new investment advisor focused on private equity strategies within the marketplace lending industry.
LendTech has been established pursuant to a joint venture between affiliates of Liberum, a London based investment bank who conceived Europe's first institutional investor in marketplace loans in 2013 and has raised over USD1.9 billion for marketplace lending funds and platforms; Ranger Alternative Management II, LP, an investment advisor which manages two leading direct lending funds, The Ranger Specialty Income Fund and the Ranger Direct Lending Fund, the latter which is publicly traded on the main market of the London Stock Exchange (ticker: RDL) and Velocity Venture Group, whose members have led over USD3B in strategic investments, acquisitions, and recapitalisations in the payments, transaction services, and banking industries.
LendTech is in a unique position to leverage the three affiliate partners' industry experience and access to deal flow to take advantage of one of the fastest growth Fintech sectors, Marketplace Lending. Marketplace Lending is in a critical growth phase with the continued international disruption of bank lending, the expansion into multiple lending sectors and major financial institutions now entering the space. In the 5 years to 2015, the annual volumes of the leading eight US & UK platforms have increased by a factor of 100x, reaching USD23 billion of loan origination in 2015. LendTech's unique expertise and insight into the Fintech sector strongly positions the strategy to make strategic investments in well-positioned Lending platforms and in the services and technology providers surrounding them.
"We strongly believe in the advantages that Marketplace Lending offers over traditional bank lending," says Cormac Leech, a director in Liberum Alternative Finance. "With their cost effective models, more friendly borrower experience and their ability to pull large amounts of borrower data quickly, Marketplace Lenders are the future of the financial industry."
LendTech's private equity strategy seeks to make Seed, Series A, and follow on investments and will focus on not just marketplace lending platforms, but also complimentary businesses in industries such as technology, media and marketing.
"The partners behind LendTech provide a tremendous advantage by enabling us to leverage well timed investments in businesses poised for rapid growth," says Andrew Rueff, a partner at Velocity Venture Group. "We are focusing investments on strategic companies that have clearly defined competitive advantages coupled with strong management teams."
"Because we have a deep understanding of the industry and how marketplace lending platform valuations are tied closely to their originations, it gives us a competitive advantage," says Bill Kassul, a ​principal in Ranger Alternatives Management II, LP. "In the past year, all three of LendTech's affiliate partners have been approached by private equity investors who wanted to leverage our exclusive insight into deal flow. This new fund will allow them to do this".