YouLend secures deal with J.P. Morgan to extend £4 billion in additional financing to SMEs

LONDON, Jan. 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- YouLend, the leading global embedded finance platform, announces the completion of a private securitisation transaction with global financial services firm J.P. Morgan as a senior lender and Castlelake, L.P. providing subordinate debt. The deal will enable YouLend to extend £4 billion in additional revenue-based financing to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This will be accessible via partnered global e-commerce sites, tech companies, and payment service providers, such as Amazon, Dojo, eBay, and Just Eat Takeaway.com.

The partnership with J.P. Morgan demonstrates a commitment to powering the backbone of the economy, by closing the funding gap for SMEs. YouLend's sophisticated AI-driven decision-making model boosts financial inclusion by building an accurate picture of a business's health and opening finance to the most under-served SMEs.

Anders Torpe Christoffersen, CFO of YouLend, commented: "This partnership with J.P. Morgan is a critical milestone for YouLend. The deal enables us to provide nearly £4 billion in additional SME financing and underscores our dedication to fuelling the growth and financial stability of SMEs."

The financing from J.P. Morgan will extend YouLend's origination volumes as it works to empower a rapidly increasing number of businesses across the EU and the UK with access to seamless embedded finance experiences. By reducing YouLend's cost of capital, the facility supports YouLend's ambition to offer the most competitive rates and market-leading terms for its global partners and their merchants.

Ahmed Bakkar, Executive Director in the Securitized Products Group at J.P. Morgan, commented on the new transaction with YouLend: "We are pleased to establish this new financing facility with YouLend. Looking ahead to 2024 and beyond, we are excited about the prospects of enabling YouLend to expand its credit offerings to UK and European small businesses. With SMEs accounting for around 50% of UK GDP and serving as an engine of growth for the UK economy, we are delighted to provide this facility to YouLend, supporting the growth of the specialist lending sector and facilitating the availability of capital to creditworthy businesses."

The deal follows a major lending milestone recently announced by YouLend, as the embedded finance provider celebrated the provision of 150,000 instances of funding to SMEs across the UK, EU, and the US, since its launch in 2015. It's estimated that YouLend-backed SMEs have experienced a 26% uplift in sales in the 6 months following funding, contributing £6.8 billion in revenue to the GDP across YouLend's core markets.

J.P. Morgan joins active capital providers with YouLend, such as AllianzGI and Castlelake, L.P.

Note to Editors

About YouLend
YouLend is the preferred global embedded financing platform for many of the world's leading e-commerce and payments platforms, such as eBay, Shopify, Dojo, Mastercard, Google, Just Eat Takeaway.com, and Takepayments. 

Our software platform and APIs enable our partners to extend their value proposition by offering flexible financing products in their desired branding to their merchant base without necessarily putting capital at risk. 

With YouLend's AI-driven credit risk assessment solutions, more merchants and SMEs than ever can receive fast, flexible and affordable funding. 

We operate in over eight geographies across the UK, EU and the US. To find out more about how we create value for our partners and their customers, visit www.youlend.com.

YouLend Limited is part of Banking Circle Group with EQT as the majority shareholder.