Plend secures £700k pre-seed investment led by Tomahawk and Ascension to expand its social lending platform.
Tomahawk and Ascension led the pre-seed round, with backing from Haatch and NBS Ventures, to support the growth of the social lending platform.
Plend operates an ethical consumer lending platform that uses open banking technology to assess affordability. The company offers fair loan alternatives for applicants often excluded by traditional credit scoring systems.
Plend has secured £700k in pre-seed funding from a syndicate of early-stage investors to expand its lending platform. Tomahawk and Ascension led the round, with additional participation from Haatch and NBS Ventures. The capital will be deployed to challenge existing consumer credit models and extend affordable financing options to millions of financially excluded individuals in the UK.
The company applies Open Banking data to evaluate borrower risk more accurately than traditional credit scoring agencies. By enabling everyday retail investors to fund loans directly, Plend aims to provide a transparent alternative to conventional high-cost credit providers.
From the founder
"We’re on a mission to personalise credit scoring and create a fairer way to assess creditworthiness. By making smarter lending decisions based on a person’s actual behaviour and current financial position, we will be giving financial independence to millions of people currently excluded from life-changing loans. I’m one of the ‘13 million’ and I have a deeply personal experience with the blunt instrument that is our current outdated and odious credit scoring system. This investment is a big step towards creating a world where everyone is treated fairly and can access affordable finance."
Rob Pasco
CEO and Co-founder at Plend
Investor perspective
"Plend shares our vision that financial services should be available to anyone, anywhere and at any time. We are excited to team up with Plend in order to disrupt traditional credit scoring and make low-interest loans more widely accessible."
Connor Benoit Milner
Investor, Tomahawk
