ThinCats

ThinCats is an alternative lender that provides business loans to mid-sized UK businesses using capital from institutional investors including pension schemes and asset managers. Founded in 2011, ThinCats operates throughout the UK with offices in Ashby, Sheffield, Birmingham, Glasgow and London.[1]

ThinCats
Ltd.
IndustryFinancial Services, Financial Technology
FoundedUnited Kingdom (2011)
Headquarters
Ashby
,
England, UK
Area served
UK
Key people
Amany Attia, CEO
ProductsBusiness loans
Websitewww.thincats.com

History

Thincats, the original trading name of Business Loan Network Ltd (BLN), was launched in 2011 as one of the first peer-to-business lenders in the UK allowing individuals to lend money to limited companies. [2] The company was set up to help meet demand for funding generated largely by the withdrawal of the banks following the banking crisis of 2008. In December 2015, it was announced that ESF Capital (European Speciality Finance) Limited had purchased a 73.4% equity stake in BLN.[3] In 2017 BLN was fully authorised by the FCA. The ESF Group of companies now trade under the name of ThinCats.[4] In December 2019, ThinCats announced that all future funding would be sourced from institutional investors only, resulting in the closure of its P2P platform to new business, which entered a run-off phase.

Business funding

ThinCats funds UK SMEs with loans from £1m up to £15m.[5] It offers various funding solutions to meet a number of needs including working capital, refinancing, growth capital and acquisitions. A nationwide business development team was established in 2017 and works with accountants, corporate finance companies and other business advisers to structure debt facilities for businesses.[6]

Data

In 2018 ThinCats launched its data modelling system; PRISM (Propensity and Risk Model).[7] This is used to help the business price risk and also looks to predict an SME’s future funding requirements.

Investing

ThinCats enables institutional investors looking for income from an alternative asset class to lend directly to UK businesses.

Since 2017 ThinCats has announced a number of funding programmes and now manages mandates for a range of institutions, including Waterfall Asset Management[8], Insight Investment[9], BAE Systems Pensions[10] and British Business Investments[11], funding commitments totalling in excess of £700m.

References
  1. Gaw, Kathyrn. "ThinCats expands into Sheffield with new hire", Peer2Peer Finance News, 14 February 2019. Retrieved on 8 April 2019.
  2. Warwick-Ching, Lucy. "ThinCats.com offers peer-to-peer lending", Financial Times, 23 June 2011. Retrieved on 03 June 2013.
  3. Weeks, Ryan. "ESF Capital Acquires Controlling Stake in ThinCats", AltFi, 08 December 2015. Retrieved on 20 July 2016.
  4. "ThinCats gains full FCA authorisation, plots IFISA launch - AltFi Credit". AltFi. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
  5. , ThinCats Retrieved on 8 April 2019.
  6. "Peer-to-peer business lender ThinCats hires new Manager", 'BBP Media', 07 March 2017. Retrieved on 8 April 2019.
  7. [Mould, John. "What accountants need to know about the revolution in lending to SMEs", 'Accountancy Age', 10 December 2018. Retrieved on 8 April 2019.
  8. [Terrelonge, Zen. "£200m UK SME funding programme launched by ThinCats", 'Real Business', 2 October 2017. Retrieved on 8 April 2019.
  9. [Migliorato, Lorenzo. "ThinCats looks at £300m institutional investment for p2p ABL", 'Leasing Life', 19 September 2018. Retrieved on 8 April 2019.
  10. [Vengurlekar, Sumit. "ThinCats secure £200M boost for UK SMEs with BAE Systems Pensions", 'IBS Intelligence', 11 December 2018. Retrieved on 8 April 2019.
  11. [Symcox, Jonathan. "Lender ThinCats in £20M Funding Boost", 'Business Cloud', 18 February 2019. Retrieved on 8 April 2019.
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