In a pre-seed angel round, Manchester-based embedded FinTech platform Firenze raised £750K at a valuation of £3.75 million.
The investment will accelerate its goal of democratizing access to Lombard lending. With it, Firenze will be able to expand its workforce and begin bringing on the first wealth managers and platforms.
Investors:
In the last 18 months, Firenze concluded one of the most significant pre-seed angel fundraising rounds, attracting oversubscription. It’s rumored to be the biggest pre-seed round outside of London as well. Moreover, prominent investors participated in it, including scout funds from VCs at the upper echelons of the industry, like a16z, Atomico, Ada Ventures, and Lakestar.
Prominent FinTech super-angels and operators include Steve Lemon (Currencycloud), Andi Kazeroonian (Outward VC), Ara Yeromian (Ontario Teachers Pension Plan), Kaysan Nikkah (Edinvest Family Office), Felix Leuschner (Drover), Keith Grose (Plaid), Michele Attisani (Faceit), Ricky Knox (Tandem), and Amir Nooriala (Oak North), as well as Neer Nagda and Oliver Blom (both IPGL).
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Executives from the industry, including senior managers at Rothschild, Julius Baer, Schroders, and Cazenove, also participated in the round.
Background:
David Newman and Anna Curtis founded Firenze earlier this year. The company provides wealth managers with an embedded FinTech platform, allowing them to offer loans to their clients for as little as £25k, backed by investments. Known as Lombard loans, these have only been accessible to private bank customers with assets totaling at least £1 million.
More people are now able to access this cost-effective liquidity solution that was previously only available to the wealthy thanks to Firenze, which also assists wealth managers, investment platforms, and financial advisors in bringing in and keeping AUM.
Firenze co-founder Anna Curtis said:
“We’re humbled by the caliber of investors who have chosen to back us at this pivotal stage of the journey. Since many of our investors understand the advantages of expanding Lombard lending, it’s clear that the market demands our solution. We are excited to advance our vision with this raise.”
