Tide gets FCA approval for acquisition of Funding Options
Digital business banking platform Tide has concluded its acquisition of Funding Options, the UK marketplace for business finance.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has approved the deal, which was first announced in November 2022.
Tide has announced that Funding Options will operate as a separate brand, and that work to merge Tide’s credit intermediation business with Funding Options is ongoing. This part of the operation is now called Tide Partner Credit Services, headed up by Funding Options chief executive Simon Cureton.
The acquisition of Funding Options gives Tide’s more than 475,000 members, equivalent to around nine per cent of UK market share of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), a wider range of credit options. They will be able to access Funding Options’ lender partners, of which there are more than 120, creating a major new marketplace for SME credit.
Since 2013, UK firms have accessed more than £700m in funds via Funding Options. The company was founded in 2011.
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“With challenging macroeconomic conditions driving a wave of business consolidation in the market, the addition of Funding Options to Tide means we can provide our members with more ways of accessing credit,” said Tide chief executive Oliver Prill.
“Working with Simon and his team, our plans to scale our credit intermediation business will serve this real and rising need for funding. As Tide grows in the UK and globally, we’re looking at further acquisitions to accelerate our growth and add to the services and products we offer our members.”
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“The combined capabilities of Tide and Funding Options as it relates to SME finance is phenomenal,” said Cureton. “As part of Tide, our ability to do what we do best – help businesses gain access to finance – is going to be turbo-charged, not only in the UK but also as we move into new markets.
“We’ll be at the forefront of the sector, driving innovation in technology, new products, new services and new features that will make a huge difference to our customers.”