YouLend inks facility with Castlelake to support US expansion
Embedded financing plaform YouLend has secured a fresh financing facility with Castlelake to grow its business in the US.
The value of the three-year facility, between funds managed by Castlelake and YouLend, was not disclosed. However, combined with existing financing agreements, it will enable YouLend to lend $1bn (£770m) to US small- and medium-sized businesses.
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“The United States is a critical priority for us,” said Anders Torpe Christoffersen, chief financial officer at YouLend.
“We’re thrilled to accelerate origination growth through this facility with Castlelake.”
Castlelake is an alternative investment firm that specialises in asset-based private credit. Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management announced plans to buy a majority stake in Castlelake earlier this year.
This is the latest agreement between YouLend and Castllake, building on an existing relationship between the two firms across multiple geographies in Europe.
In 2023, funds managed by Castlelake provided subordinated debt to support YouLend UK’s private securitisation transaction.
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“Castlelake is pleased to expand its existing relationship with YouLend through this new financing facility for US merchants,” said Alex Curcio, partner, specialty finance at Castlelake. “We believe the global SMB finance sector offers interesting asset-based investment opportunities for institutional investors and that private credit solutions are playing an increasingly important role in meeting the demand for capital from SMBs.”
