Lovey, one of the UK’s fastest-growing financial services providers, will use the funding to expand lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the country.
The funding marks the largest facility in the Great Charles Street-based company’s history.
Jack Smith, founder and chief executive at Lovey, said: “This new facility is an important milestone for us and will enable us to put more capital behind UK small businesses, scale our own-book lending, and give more SMEs access to finance when they need it.
“Pollen Street shares our belief that finances for small businesses should be simpler, faster, and more flexible, and we’re really pleased to have them backing Lovey for this next stage of growth.”
The credit facility, arranged with alternative asset manager Pollen Street Capital, includes £50 million in committed capital and a £200 million accordion.
It is intended to help the company scale its direct lending operations alongside its existing brokerage services.
Founded in 2016 by Mr Smith, Lovey has grown from a start-up into a 120-employee business, providing more than £600 million in loans to over 11,000 UK SMEs.
The firm began lending directly from its own balance sheet in 2022, having started out as a broker.
It now offers a mix of direct lending and brokerage services, allowing clients to access funding from both Lovey and its wider panel of partners.
Kai Hunter, chief operating officer at Lovey (Image: Lovey)
Kai Hunter, chief operating officer at Lovey, said: “The funding announced today is the result of close and collaborative work with Pollen Street and I am grateful to their team, and to our own, for the diligence they brought to it.
“This funding deepens our lending capacity and allows us to offer larger loans, so that we can back more of the UK’s small and medium-sized businesses, from those that have found finance hardest to secure to the well-established, with greater speed and certainty.”
The new facility follows previous funding arrangements, including a £35 million revolving credit facility from Paragon Bank and a £10 million junior medium-term note programme from LGB Capital Markets.
Ethan Saggu, investment director, Pollen Street (Image: Jason Ashwood)
Ethan Saggu, investment director at Pollen Street Capital, said: “Lovey has spent almost a decade seeing the UK SME lending market from a broker’s perspective, giving the team an expert view of where demand for credit is going unmet.
“We have financed a number of specialist SME lenders and recognise what it takes to grow from brokerage into balance-sheet lending.
“Lovey has done so with a well-defined product and a focused approach, and we look forward to supporting the team as it scales.”
The company believes that the additional capital will help it reach more businesses and play a greater role in supporting the SME sector.
Lovey was advised by Ashurst Perkins Coie on the transaction, while Pollen Street was advised by Simmons & Simmons.
