British fintech firm Zilch Technology Ltd. raised £100 million ($127 million) in a securitized debt financing deal arranged by Deutsche Bank AG, as the buy-now-pay-later firm seeks to expand before a planned initial public offering next year.
The funds will help Zilch develop new products for a broader base of customers, it said in a statement on Wednesday.
“This deal means growth,” Zilch co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Philip Belamant said Wednesday in a Bloomberg Television interview. “This allows us to triple commerce that we can send to our retail partner network, which is phenomenal.”
He added that the financing will allow Zilch to accelerate the rollout of its product road map, boost market share and ultimately help the firm move toward an IPO.
The London-based company serves more than 4 million customers and processes over 10 million monthly payments, according to the statement. It was valued at $2 billion in a Series C funding round in 2022.
In March, Belamant said Zilch was close to becoming profitable. He also added that the firm was looking to pursue an IPO next year and had held discussions with Nasdaq, the New York Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange. Zilch is keeping its options open regarding the location of its planned listing, Belamant said Wednesday.
In both the US and the UK, “capital has to move back to IPOs,” he said. “In the UK specifically, we know we need to change things. We need liquidity in the market — we have to have that. We need perception to change around the LSE.”
The UK’s prospects as a listing destination have waned in recent years, as companies seek higher valuations elsewhere. Of the $11.9 billion raised via IPOs in Europe this year, just over 2% was in the UK — the lowest in decades, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.