September 19th, 2019

Assetz Capital among fastest growing tech firms

The annual Tech Track 100 league table, compiled by research firm Fast Track and featured in The Sunday Times, ranks the 100 fastest growing private tech companies in the country by sales over the previous three years.

Digital banking service provider Revolut came in first place, with a 507.56 per cent increase in its annual sales over three years.

Lendable placed sixth on the list with the report highlighting its 242.98 per cent annual sales rise over three years. Revenues at the company hit £19.4m last year.

The research also noted the company’s recent deals with Goldman Sachs Private Capital and Waterfall Asset Management.

Lendable originates £40m of loans per month, up from £3m in 2017. Fast Track noted that the founder moved to the UK from Germany to start the firm, citing a more favourable financial market.

Another P2P entry, Lending Works, came in at 21 on the list after seeing its annual sales rise by 128.54 per cent over the past three years. The P2P lender has provided more than 30,000 loans and has sacrificed margins to boost customer experience, according to the report.

It was also the first P2P provider to arrange insurance for its lenders, protecting against borrower default, the report said.

Lending Works has raised over £10m from investors including Maven Capital and Pollen Street Capital. Sales reached £6.2m in 2018. It is aiming to reach £1bn in loan volume by 2023.

“It’s a special accomplishment for us to have not only made the cut for the Tech Track 100 for the first time, but also to have ranked so highly on the list,” Lending Works’ chief executive Nick Harding said.

“This table is the preserve of the UK’s most distinguished tech brands, and our presence among them bears testament to the remarkable strides we’ve made over the past couple of years.”

Placing at 53 on the list – the same as its ranking in 2018 – is Assetz Capital, clocking an annual sales rise over three years of 85.77 per cent. The P2P firm’s 35,000 lenders have earned over £80m in interest and funded a total £800m of loans and 4,000 new homes.

Assetz Capital says it has funded one in 100 of all new homes built last year. It has funded more than £800m of loans in total through 35,000 lenders.

In the past year the company’s turnover reached £17m and it raised £1.9m in its third crowdfunding round, for a total of £7.2m raised.

Funding Circle, Zopa and RateSetter – which featured last year – didn’t make it on to this year’s list.

In 2018, Funding Circle was the highest ranked out of the ‘big three’ lenders, placed at number 27, but is no longer eligible for the league table since it was publicly listed.