The credit facility has been earmarked for the company's move to extend its lending capacity to include under-served SMEs, such as the UK’s 3.2 million sole traders and partnerships, alongside limited companies and LLPs.

UK SME borrowers will be able to access between £10,000 and £500,000 within 24 hours of applying.

MarketFinance moved into the black in March off the back of a 133% growth in revenues during 2021, boosted by its involvement in the British Business bank's pandemic loan relief scheme and an online lending partnership with Barclays Bank.

The company, which started life as an invoice finance platform under the MarketInvoice brand, claims to offer the fastest credit decisions in market, with 100% of applications processed in under 24 hours.

Last year MarketFinance advanced over half a billion pounds across a product suite that now spans invoice finance, business loans and flex loans, and approved credit limits worth £286m.

The expansion to the SME marketplace comes amid plans to further develop its lending APIs and investfurther in embedded finance models through integrations with software platforms, accountancy platforms, digital banks and B2B marketplaces, as it targets unicorn status.

Anil Stocker, CEO and Co-founder at MarketFinance, comments: “The fintech movement started in the shadow of the 2008 financial crash, and has since become a vital part of the finance ecosystem in the UK and exported globally. Companies like MarketFinance were there to help during the Covid pandemic. We’re continuing to innovate by serving sole traders and partnerships for the first time and by embracing the move to embedded finance."