Ravi Anand, former ThinCats managing director, has launched Ignite Funding Partners to target lending opportunities in the UK’s SME market.

Anand is hoping to raise £500m of lending capital from institutional investors for the new venture. A number of former senior ThinCats colleagues are due to follow him to Ignite, which will provide tailored lending facilities between £1m and £25m to support organic growth, acquisition, ownership transition and refinancing strategies.

Ignite will focus on the larger end of the SME market, targeting proven businesses with strong management teams that are building momentum.

Anand was formerly managing director at ThinCats, which became a significant UK lender during his tenure. A number of senior colleagues are set to follow him, although a spokesperson declined to provide more detail on this.

Anand said the business had been launched to provide the capital that is needed to power the momentum that proven SMEs have created.

“As entrepreneurs ourselves, we know how business founders think and operate and the challenges they face, so we have created a funding platform which helps them by being relationship-focused, flexible and transparent,” he explained.

He added that the approach will be relationship-led, bolstered by purpose-built AI agents which can swiftly analyse company information. Human oversight and judgement will then be applied for lending decisions.

ThinCats was acquired by Shawbrook Group in September 2025 but continues to lend to UK businesses under the ThinCats brand.