The newly-signed financing arrangement comprises an initial £3 million credit line from ESF and an equity investment of £1.6 million, with further potential for additional equity and debt funding. The deal signals the launch of Satago’s unique financing solution, which marries dynamic single invoice financing with a free, online, universally-accessible credit control platform for SMEs. Satago invoice finance had previously been in a pilot phase since January 2016.

With late payments a key cause of SME and micro-business insolvency, Satago’s unique offering – using technology to give smaller companies the same level of credit control as major corporations – is both a revolutionary advancement for the SME market segment, and the latest example of an emerging fintech company addressing a market issue overlooked by banks. With more than 1000 SMEs already signed up to Satago’s platform, the firm can currently finance up to £50,000 per client (including invoices as small as £500) and is predicting strong growth in the year ahead.

Satago’s all-in-one cash-flow solution:
• Acts as a more flexible and lower-cost alternative to traditional financing arrangements such as factoring,
• Provides a dynamic, near-instant source of finance as an alternative to traditional bank overdrafts,
• Is designed to assess and improve clients’ financial health prior to offering any financing,
• Incorporates a fully-integrated solution for invoice reminders,
• Allows clients to visualise credit risk from their sales ledger – enabling users to formulate credit risk policies and limits, and
• Seamlessly links with online accounting software, allowing compatibility with existing infrastructure and software packages.

This is ESF’s second strategic partnership, following its acquisition of 73.5% of ThinCats, Europe’s largest provider of secured P2P SME loans, in December 2015. The investment in Satago complements ESF’s strategy to support innovative platforms providing a range of financing options to SMEs.

“Late payments are a perennial issue for SMEs, damaging their finances as a result. But with this support from ESF Capital, Satago has the firepower needed to finally put SMEs in full control,” says Steven Renwick, CEO and Founder, Satago. “We’re the only finance company that actually tries to improve clients’ financial health before offering them finance, and we’re excited to now offer these capabilities to a much wider audience”.

John Mould, CEO, ESF Capital, comments “Alternative finance is a rapidly growing sector, and Satago – boasting both the necessary technology and specialist expertise – will quickly become a key player in the sector’s progression. Satago is a clear complement to ESF’s broader business: particularly significant to SMEs seeking a range of finance options and investors looking to diversify their portfolios.”

Concurrent with the investment from ESF, Satago raised a further £550,000, including follow-on participation from previous investors.