Aldermore raises £40m to boost lending

Fledgling UK bank Aldermore has raised £40 million (€48 million; $66 million) of new capital to enable it to boost its lending to the country's SMEs.

The bank received investments from Toscafund and Landsdowne Partners totalling £40 million, after its main sponsor, financial services-focused buyout firm AnaCap Financial Partners, initiated the fundraising. Credit Suisse acted as placement agent for the fundraising with Norton Rose providing legal advice.

Aldermore said the new funds would enable it “to continue to meet the strong demand for accounts and services from both retail customers and small to medium sizes enterprises”.

The bank has more than 100,000 retail customers, with deposits exceeding £3.3 billion. Lending to SMEs and homeowners totals around £3.4 billion, it said.

“The deal will also establish a wider dialogue with UK institutional investors as Aldermore continues to review its capital markets strategy, which may, amongst other strategies, include an initial public offering,” it said in the statement.

Chief executive Philip Monks added: “The new funds provide us with the opportunity to do even more to champion Britain's small businesses, the lifeblood of our economy. Our strong capital position also enables us to look at a number of new product and service launches to further meet the needs of our customers.”

AnaCap is Aldermore's largest investor. Others included Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Ohio Public Employees Retirement System, and Honeywell Capital Management.