Commission-free stockbroking app Freetrade has raised £30 million in debt financing to strengthen its balance sheet amid volatile fund-raising conditions for fintech startups.
All existing institutional investors, Molten Ventures, Left Lane Capital and L Catterton, participated in the round. They were joined by new investors, the Phoenix, an investment manager with over $100bn in assets, and Capricorn Capital Group, a private investment firm.
The debt financing comes after the firm picked up £8 million on its first day of trading on Crowdcube in November.
The company now claims 1.3 million registered users in the UK. Revenue for the calender year 2021 stood at £15.1 million.
In a blog post, Freetrade chief Adam Dodds, states: "We raised this money through a convertible loan note. We believe this is a prudent step forward in our mission to building a sustainable business. The money strengthens our balance sheet and provides us with the firepower to continue to develop our product and meet the needs of our customers in the UK and Europe."
Doods adds that the new capital will help the firm expand internationally, having just onboarded its first customers for a beta launch in Sweden.