European revenue-based financing is experiencing as much of a boom as it is in the US, with the likes of Pipe reaching a multi-billion valuation. UK-based startup platform Bloom has now secured a £300m / $376m financing round led by Credo Capital and Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE:FIG), making it one of the better-funded revenue-based lending businesses in Europe. It has now raised a total of £307m.
Bloom competes with companies like Wayflyer in Ireland, which has raised a total of $636.2M, according to Crunchbase, and Clearco in the US which has raised $681.5M.
The revenue-based lender says its pricing model and “pay-as-you-go” features set it apart from similar startups which have arisen in the last 18 months.
CEO, James Hickson said in a statement: “We are not another revenue-based lender. We estimate that ecommerce merchants have incurred £125-£200 million in excess fees based on the current pricing status quo. That’s money that could have been used for more stock, increased ad spend, or customer incentives. We saw an opportunity to innovate rather than simply join the herd.”
Founded during the pandemic in Luxembourg by Hickson, Bloom concentrates its service on online commerce companies.
Christopher Dailey, Credo Capital added: “Demand for eCommerce lending has expanded in Europe. We wanted to make an investment in a platform that was moving the product forward and combined all of the great technology and analytics you expect with a really differentiated product and approach.”
