Praetura Group, a North West-based debt and equity capital provider to small- and medium-sized businesses, has celebrated a 拢253 million year.
The group鈥檚 lending division, which comprises Praetura Asset Finance, Praetura Commercial Finance, Praetura Invoice Finance and Kingsway Finance, finished the previous year on a 拢123m loanbook.聽
The growth in 2021 marked its highest lending levels since it was founded in 2011, with a 62% increase from 2020.
Through its lending division, Praetura offers small- and medium-sized businesses an alternative to traditional institutional lenders. It supports clients across almost every industry sector, providing funds between 拢5,000 to 拢15m to help businesses meet their own strategic objectives.
Praetura Asset Finance and Kingsway Finance transacted more than 1,000 deals – a record number to date for both businesses, predominantly driven through their close relationships with broker networks.
Praetura Commercial Finance, which is one of the fastest-growing businesses in the group, saw a 70% rise in funding applications and wrote more than 拢82m of new facilities in 2021. It also expanded its own footprint in the Midlands and the South following the appointment of new sales directors Tom O鈥橠ell and Jeff Greenfield.
Praetura Invoice Finance, which only launched in September, has already attracted a large roster of clients from a range of sectors including construction, FMCG, manufacturing and supply.
Peadar O鈥橰eilly, managing director of the Praetura lending division, said: 鈥淭he rise of specialist finance has stemmed from businesses demanding greater flexibility from lenders.聽
鈥淲e鈥檙e so proud of what the team has achieved in 2021 and we鈥檙e excited to build on this success. Praetura lending businesses are targeting a combined 拢300m loanbook by the end of 2022.鈥�
At Praetura Ventures, the team raised 拢53m through its EIS and BPR investment solutions in 2021. With two-thirds of Praetura Ventures鈥� portfolio situated in the North, the company also secured 拢15m from the British 老九品茶 Investments as the first Manchester-headquartered company featured on the Regional Angels Programme.聽
This coincided with the appointment of five expert operational partners 鈥� including industry heavyweights from Apple and Social Chain 鈥� to support Praetura Ventures鈥� portfolio founders with mentorship and advice.
Praetura Ventures invested in eight new portfolio companies including BankiFi, Coadjute and Maxwellia. After supporting the business from seed stage, they also took part in Peak鈥檚 $75m Series C fundraise, led by global investment giant SoftBank.聽
Praetura are looking to invest in 13 new early-stage businesses during 2022, taking their total portfolio to 35 businesses. A further three operational partners will be hired to support the portfolio.
The Praetura Group now employs more than 100 people across three offices in the North West. As a group, the team are currently developing tech-enabled services to help scale its equity and debt solutions to support further growth.