Iwoca lands £250M debt line as £1B sale talk swirls
What's the deal? UK small business lender iwoca has closed a £250 million debt facility from private credit firm Waterfall Asset ManagementDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and an unnamed bank. It plans to use the credit line to fund larger loans to Britain's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Why now? Iwoca's own data shows small firms are taking out bigger debt packages to fuel growth. The share of loans worth between £50,000 and £100,000 has nearly doubled, from 27% to 42% — pushing the lender to borrow more itself to meet demand.
What's the endgame? The facility lets iwoca ramp up lending power as demand shifts toward larger loans. Over 2025, it lent 60% more to small businesses, making it one of Britain's fastest-growing fintechs.
"This facility means we can offer more businesses the kind of support they're looking for, backed by some of the best institutional partners in the market," said Romain Guileminet, iwoca's head of capital.
The bigger picture: The credit line lands just days after it emerged that iwoca had appointed bankers at boutique investment bank QatalystDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → to explore a sale valuing it north of £1 billion. The process is early, and one person familiar with the matter cautioned: "There is a likelihood that nothing will happen."
The signal: At £250 million, this ranks among the largest UK debt rounds in its space, sitting in the 97th percentile of comparable deals. It arrives amid a wave of dealmaking in fintech and SME lending — FirstRandDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → is looking to offload AldermoreDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, while OakNorthDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → awaits a US bank licence — underscoring how consolidation is reshaping the sector.
Read more: City AM
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
