Zopa, the British digital bank that started as a peer-to-peer lender, just secured 75 million pounds ($92.40 million) from existing investors to finance its expansion plans; in light of these new funds and the current market conditions, Jaidev Janardana (Chief Executive Officer) informed Reuters that an initial public offering (IPO) has been momentarily delayed.
Also Among the Preferences of Investment Giants
IAG Silverstripe, who supplied the last-minute boost for Zopa to achieve its banking permit in 2019, headed up this equity round with participation from U.S. hedge fund Davidson Kempner and venture capitalist Augmentum, according to Janardana. SoftBank – a previous shareholder of Zopa defying their 220 million pound funding round in late 2021 that priced them at around $1 billion- did not participate in the most recent campaign.
Last August, SoftBank’s Vision Fund – a prominent tech investor – recorded a huge $23 billion loss as sector valuations plunged. Nonetheless, Zopa has now announced that it is officially valued at over $1 billion and reached unicorn status following its latest funding round – the details of which are yet to be revealed by the company itself. To top it off, sources close to the deal have confirmed their post-money valuation increased even further through this funding round.
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Launched in London in 2005, Zopa started as a peer-to-peer lender and has since expanded to banking. To date, they have accumulated over 2 billion pounds of consumer loans and 3 billion pounds worth of customer savings.
Zopa Will Probably Survive 2023 on Its Journey to Become a Unicorn
Janardana revealed that, due to the economic recession in Britain, Zopa is expected to report another deficit for 2022 when releasing its yearly accounts. Although it did have a few monthly profits last year, he said they are now aiming for an IPO sometime next year as long as market conditions do not improve drastically within the following months.
With the newly acquired funds, Zopa will explore opportunities for mergers and acquisitions of similar companies. Furthermore, to fund even larger purchases, the company may raise more cash or offer its own shares as an option. To solidify its balance sheet later this year, Janardana mentioned considering a loan between 25 million pounds and 100 million pounds of Tier-2 debt; however, these plans remain uncertain due to the cost associated with said debt.
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