Updraft raises £272m in debt & equity round for customer financial management

By Gloria Mathias

Updraft, a UK-based consumer lending FinTech, has announced the closing of a £250 million forward flow arrangement with Jefferies and Santander Corporate and Investment Banking to help UK households move away from expensive credit cards and overdrafts.

The closing of the arrangement allows Updraft to build on its momentum from 2023 into 2024, helping customers on a path to debt zero with clear pay-off routes. Updraft’s growth plans will see more value-added features to turn users from borrowers to savers, test new channels to reach new customer segments and stay on course to be the leader in financial support and guidance.

This latest fund-raising round concludes a strong year for Updraft, which uses risk models that outperform traditional bureau-based credit risk models by combining bureau data, open banking data, and behavioural data to better underwrite credit risk and lower the cost of credit.

Updraft CEO, Aseem Munshi said, “This agreement helps us serve even more customers to manage their finances. The size and term of the deal give us a long window to focus on building our products, processes, and strategy for future growth while we continue to manage risks and build a profitable business. This is another key milestone delivered by the amazing Team Updraft.”

MD, Head of ABS Originations at Jefferies, Pradeep Krishnamurthy added, “Our review of Updraft’s processes and underwriting gives us confidence in their ability to originate and manage a high-performing loan book.”

Alongside the Jefferies and Santander Corporate and Investment Banking deal, Quilam Capital has further reiterated Updraft’s ability to originate and manage their loan book leading the mezzanine capital increase to support the £200 million on-balance sheet capacity. This was complemented with some additional equity capital rounds led by MoreThan Capital and LC Nueva AIF. The influx of this capital sees Updraft reach profitability in 2024 and invest in its platform business.