SME-focused challenger Allica Bank raises £100mn in funding

UK-based fintech challenger Allica Bank has secured £100mn in a Series C funding round led by technology investor TCV – the backer behind industry heavyweights such as Nubank, Brex and Revolut.

TCV is joined in the Series C round by existing investors Warwick Capital Partners and Atalaya Capital Management. Allica intends to use the money to scale rapidly and accelerate its presence in the UK market, having already lent £1bn and reached the much-coveted milestone of being profitable on a month-by-month basis earlier this year.

Allica is a London-based digital challenger bank that provides banking services to SMEs and entrepreneurs including lending, savings and payments. Despite accounting for a third of the UK’s economy, Allica says these SMEs, which typically employ up to 250 people, are often neglected by high-street banks and other fintechs.

The bank is led by Richard Davies, a vastly experienced executive whose CV includes stints at both HSBC and Revolut.

Latest investment ‘a vote of confidence’ in Allica

Davies says: “From the moment we sat down with TCV it was clear we shared the same vision to transform SME banking in the UK by taking on the mainstream ‘high-street’ banking market. It’s a massive vote of confidence in the team we’ve built at Allica to attract backing from such a world-class technology investor under the toughest of market conditions, and this £100mn funding round will enable us to support far more of Britain’s established and growth companies, who have been underserved for too long.”

Michael Kalfayan, Partner at TCV, says: “Richard and team have built a truly impressive platform that is looking to solve a great need for UK established SMEs, a highly complex segment to serve. TCV is laser-focused on partnering with market-leading companies seeking to leverage technology to transform industries. Allica is a prime example of this and we’re incredibly excited to collaborate with this strong team as they work to be the country’s leading digitally native SME bank.”

And John Doran, General Partner at TCV, adds: “We worked closely with Richard during his time at Revolut and are delighted to partner with him again to support Allica on this journey.”