Wealthtech start-up Firenze secures £160m funding line from Monument Bank
Wealthtech start-up Firenze has secured a £160 million funding line from UK-based challenger Monument Bank as the company looks to scale its Lombard loan offering for wealth management firms.
Firenze secures £160m funding line from Monument Bank
Firenze says the new facility will enable the company to serve a “broader segment of wealth management clients”, with Monument also set to extend the fintech’s secured liquidity services to its mass-affluent customers.
A process typically reserved for clients of private banks, Lombard lending enables borrowers to use existing investment assets as collateral to access liquidity, without needing to liquidise their assets.
Firenze, founded in 2023, seeks to democratise access to Lombard lending with an embedded solution targeted at wealth managers, brokers and investment platforms, with loans starting at £25,000. The company says it “is currently working with wealth managers and investment platforms overseeing more than £50bn in assets”.
The wealthtech is backed by the likes of Andreessen Horowitz, Atomico, Ada Ventures and Lakestar, and has been chaired by former TSB Bank CEO Paul Pester since last September.
The partnership follows a report from Sky News that Monument Bank is in the process of plotting a Series C funding round with the aim of raising £200 million.
The report adds that the potential new funding will be followed by a listing on Nasdaq “by the end of 2027”.
