British fintech company Zilch has secured a £100m debt financing deal as chief executive Philip Belamant suggests it could go public outside of the UK.
Zilch, which offers buy now pay later (BNPL) services subsidised by ads, said it will use the funds to launch new products for a “broader base of customers”.
The securitisation debt deal was led by Deutsche Bank.
“With this new securitisation, we’re poised to triple sales volumes and achieve significant capital efficiencies as we continue to drive billions in commerce to our retail network,” said Belamant.
“This partnership not only provides an excellent opportunity for debt investors to join in Zilch’s success, but it also enables us to accelerate the rollout of our feature roadmap which will broaden wallet and market share.
Belamant said the firm was aiming to add “over 100,000 new customers every month” and double its revenue year over year.
The London-based fintech has been watched closely as it gears up for an initial public offering. Last October, Zilch was valued at £1.65bn following an investment from eBay Ventures.
A month later, the company posted tripled revenue in its accounts, reaching £30m for the year ended 31 March 2023.
The company has yet to report a profitable year despite strong revenue growth. Reaching profit has become a top priority for the firm ahead of any IPO plans, which prompted the decision to pause its US roll-out to focus on domestic growth.
Zilch’s upcoming IPO is encouraging for London’s public tech space, however, Belamant told the Financial Times that the firm could list abroad if the UK government does not successfully implement measures to support its markets.
Referring to planned reforms to the markets, including directing pension investments to high-growth companies and increased incentives for investors, Belamant said:
“If this all happens, I’m not sure why you wouldn’t want to list on the LSE…But of course, if it doesn’t happen, then we have to take the appropriate decision and that might be to go somewhere else.”