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A new entrant in the SME lending space has secured a $100 million debt facility, which it said would broaden its offerings and “accelerate” its growth.
SME lender Judo Capital, which formally launched in March 2018, has announced the signing of a $100 million debt facility agreement with global investment bank Goldman Sachs.
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According to co-founder and co-CEO of Judo, David Hornery, the facility would provide “further depth” to the lender’s funding proposition for Australian businesses.
“Since Judo Capital launched a year ago, demand for our relationship-focused SME lending has rocketed because we take the time to fully understand the businesses we lend to,” Mr Hornery said.
“This $100 million debt facility with Goldman Sachs will allow Judo to continue to broaden our range of lending services, further accelerate our growth, and reach more small and medium-sized businesses with our services nationwide.”
Mr Hornery claimed that Judo’s ability to successfully secure the funding from Goldman Sachs is an example of the lender’s capacity to offer long-term finance solutions to SMEs.
“Successfully negotiating a transaction of this size and significance required a highly collaborative and commercial approach,” the former NAB executive added.
“We have been consistently delighted with the quality of the engagement with the Goldman Sachs team and look forward to continuing to build that relationship into the future.
“This arrangement with Goldman Sachs further underpins Judo’s capacity to offer a real alternative – an alternative that is improving lending by making judgement-based decisions and guaranteeing to do it quicker.”
Judo’s latest announcement follows its recent agreement with global financial services firm Credit Suisse, in which Judo secured a $350 million debt facility.
In August 2018, Judo also announced that it raised $140 million from its first round of equity raising.
Initial investors include Ironbridge Capital, Canadian pension fund manager OPTrust, Myer Family Investments, the Abu Dhabi Capital Group, and Credit Suisse Asset Management
Judo has previously noted its commitment to harnessing the third-party channel, particularly brokers with commercial “acumen”.
[Related: Lender raises $140m to secure march into SME space]
