Tide, an SME financial services provider, has acquired lending marketplace company Funding Options for an undisclosed fee.
First revealed by AltFi, Tide made the acquisition to boost its existing lending marketplace services, gaining access to the almost 500,000 customers of Funding Options.
Tide did, however, state that Funding Options would remain a distinct brand that will still be run by existing CEO, Simon Cureton, who will also manage Tide’s existing credit marketplace.
“With this deal, Tide is aiming to create one of the UK’s biggest digital marketplaces for SME credit, and to make it easier for small business owners to access this vital resource,” said Tide CEO, Oliver Prill.
“We know that getting credit is even more important to our members in these challenging times: not just in terms of the rising cost of doing business, but also when high street banks are typically slower to offer smaller businesses loans.”
While the terms of the deal were not disclosed, Funding Options has been given an estimated valuation of $20m-30m by Dealroom. The fintech has raised close to $20m (£16.6m) in funding in the past.
Prill added that as the company seeks to continue its growth, it will “consider further acquisitions to accelerate our growth and add to the services and products we offer our members”.
Founded in 2015, Tide has become a major player in the UK fintech space, having skyrocketed to a $650m (£541m) valuation following a $100m (£83m) funding round in July 2021.
Business financing marketplace Funding Options has previously partnered with top UK fintechs to expand the reach of its lending options. Previous partnerships include Wise and Starling Bank.