Lendio, a Utah-based free online marketplace for small business loans, announced that it had raised $55 million in fresh funding that will partly fuel the expansion of its bookkeeping platform.
The company, which operates loan marketplace platform Sunrise, said the funding round includes $31 million in equity led by Mercato Partners’ Traverse Fund and a $24-million debt facility from Signature Bank.
The funding round was oversubscribed and was also participated by existing investors, including Napier Park Financial Partners, Comcast Ventures, Blumberg Capital, Stereo Capital, and Runa Capital.
“This $55 million round is a significant milestone in Lendio’s mission to fuel the American dream as a financial matchmaker that brings high-tech, high-touch capital to the small business economy,” said Brock Blake, CEO and co-founder of Lendio.
The latest funding round brings the company total funds raised since its was founded in 2011 to $108.5 million. Lendio emphasized that the funding enables it to increase the scope and precision of its loan marketplace while expanding new bookkeeping and lender services functions.
The firm last raised $19 million in a Series D funding round in October 2016, valuing the company at $75 million pre-money.
It plans to enhance its lender services division and further allows banks, credit unions, and other online lenders access to its white-labeled online application via a software-as-a-service partnership model.
Lendio’s small business clients have generated an estimated $6.5 billion in economic output and created nearly 45,000 jobs in communities nationwide.
The lead investor, Mercato’s Traverse Fund, focuses on growth-stage companies seeking to expand on initial commercial success by accelerating the creation of enterprise value.
The Traverse Fund’s dedicated performance team has unique capabilities in sales, marketing, and human capital, making the firm a skilled and collaborative partner when it comes to uncovering opportunities and driving growth.
The marketplace has enabled strategic partnerships between Lendio and market leaders, including American Express, Heartland Payment Systems, PayPal, LendingClub, Kabbage, NerdWallet, Comcast Business, Staples, and Funding Circle.
Recently, ClassPass, a US-headquartered fitness marketplace that designs training applications for fitness classes, has raised US$285 million in its Series E funding round that will finance the acceleration for its international growth.
