• Banco BNI Europa adds £90m and Varengold Bank AG £45m to provide more funding for UK businesses annually
• Bank funding to support larger invoice finance deals as Kriya targets £3bn in lending this year
• Brexit: European Institutions propping up UK SMEs with working capital

Kriya has signed agreements with Portuguese bank Banco BNI Europa (BNI) and German bank Varengold Bank AG to add £90 million and £45 million respectively on its platform.

Kriya's smart online platform enables businesses to secure business loans and invoice finance. These working capital solutions are funded by a variety of sources in addition to institutional investors, including the British Business Bank, UK local authorities, global family offices and sophisticated and HNW investors.

In 2017, Kriya almost doubled the average annual amount advanced to UK businesses – from £606,000 in 2016 to £1.14m in 2017. Also, the average value of invoices funded was £96,597, up from £56,495 in the same period. Going into 2018, as larger invoice finance deals present themselves, these new institutional investor deployments will provide timely additional capital to enable UK businesses to grow.

Overall, sums advanced to UK businesses from institutional investors via Kriya have increased more than 3-fold since 2014 from £119.4m to £445.7m in 2017. Cumulative funding from institutions stands at £1.1b which represents a half (52.3%) of the total funds advanced to UK businesses.

Banco BNI Europa’s initial investment of £28.3m in 2016 was followed up with an additional £45m in May 2017. Today, that capital deployment has doubled by adding a further £90m to the platform.

Pedro Coelho, Executive Chairman of Banco BNI Europa commented: “Our experience of working with Kriya since 2016 has been exceptional. Our values are aligned on delivering innovative, quick and easy-to-use products that help growing businesses. Their ability to deliver fast and timely funding means that our investment is being well utilised. Furthermore, with the onset of Open Banking in the UK, we expect they will get funding to companies faster, who will in turn grow, hire more people and ultimately generate economic growth.”

Varengold Bank AG added £45m in September 2017 and have, today, added a further £45m to support UK businesses funding needs.

Lukas Diehl, EVP Marketplace Banking, of Varengold Bank AG commented: “The Kriya model has proven itself to be a dynamic marketplace servicing a vast swathe of businesses. Increasing our investment was a straight forward decision, in keeping with our ambition to become the bank of choice for the marketplace lending industry. In the year ahead, as Brexit looms, there is significant upside for Kriya in all scenarios. The company is well placed to serve UK businesses providing export goods and services or those firms that are wary of the trading environment. Cashflow will be central to all businesses and Kriya is well placed to service their funding needs.”

Last week, Kriya reached the milestone of funding £2b worth of invoices and business loans to UK companies. Launched in 2011, the company has provided business finance solutions to thousands of businesses across the UK who employ more than 19,000 people. During this time over 90,000 invoices have been funded to 93 countries.

Anil Stocker, CEO and Co-founder of Kriya commented: “The volume and value of invoices we’re funding is higher than ever before. This is all down to businesses choosing diversity in funding source. Our growing institutional investor base on the platform has enabled us to support a broader pool of businesses. The invoice finance and asset-based lending sector is providing more finance to UK businesses than ever before. Funding volumes are up 13% year on year and stand at just over £22 billion. This is the highest figure ever.”

Kriya business highlights (last 12 months):

• Reached landmark milestone of funding invoices and business loans worth £2b to UK companies
• Launched new brand and business loans solution
• Secured credit insurance (Euler Hermes) and credit control (Veritas Commercial Services) partnerships
• European banks now participating directly on the platform alongside the British Business Bank, UK local authorities, global family offices and sophisticated and HNW investors
• Selected in The Sunday Times Tech Track 100 and Global CB Insights Fintech250 2017 rankings
• Appointed Giles Andrews OBE, the founding father of peer-to-peer lending, as Chairman

Kriya's main strategic ambition is to broaden its reach to be able to support a wider range of businesses, from start-ups to larger businesses looking to scale up. The company aims to help even more companies with their working capital needs, so business owners can save time and focus on running their business.