ThinCats unveiled a new brand last week at an event attended by more than 100 business leaders. The gathering took place at the National Space Centre in Leicester but the new branding will not be officially launched until mid-December. John Mould, ThinCats CEO and Ravi Anand, Managing Director of ESF Capital shared their knowledge of the alternative finance industry, and answered questions on the attractions of SME funding, the size of the funding opportunity and how the company has developed to help plug the funding gap.
“We’ve got a proven track record, and institutional backing with access to diverse pools of funding with more than £200m of committed capital ready to deploy. Our company evolution, leading to the new branding and relaunch, adds to this compelling message,” said Mould.
Damon Walford, CDO, told guests that ThinCats is “starting the next part of its exciting journey.”
“Our industry is sometimes guilty of making what we do seem complicated. The bottom line is that what we do is not rocket science. We are on a mission to change the face of SME funding in the UK – and we will only succeed with your help and support.”
Anand commented;
“ThinCats serves the market both within and beyond traditional funders. We’re challenging the challengers and carving out our own path in the alternative finance landscape.”
In December 2015, ESF Capital, a London-based institutional fund manager, acquired a 73.4% stake in ThinCats; providing investment, working capital and operational resources to the peer to peer lending. John Mould became CEO of ThinCats, while ThinCats founder Kevin Caley became Chairman. The name “ThinCats” was derived as an alternative to the concept of “Fat Cats”.
To date, ThinCats has originated over £259 million in loans.