FundingSecure owners sell off majority stake to fund growth plans
FUNDINGSECURE’S owners have sold a majority stake in the business to new director Raj Kumar to raise money for their growth plans.
Experienced businessman Kumar has joined the peer-to-peer pawnbroker’s board last month and acquired a 75 per cent holding in the business for an undisclosed sum.
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Some investors had speculated that the firm had been subject to a discrete takeover. However, FundingSecure director and co-founder Nigel Hackett told Peer2Peer Finance News that Kumar would not be involved with the day-to-day running of the business and would instead help to accelerate the platform’s growth plans.
This will include hiring more staff and expanding its product offering.
“It’s not a takeover as such,” Hackett said. “Raj has been an investor on the FundingSecure platform for several years and he expressed an interest in becoming more involved in the company because he was looking to increase his influence in the P2P marketplace.”
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Hackett added that Kumar’s business experience and extensive network of contacts would be of value to FundingSecure as it moved ahead with its expansion plans.
Kumar has more than 25 years’ experience of working with companies, and he has been particularly active in the property development sector.
“At the moment we’re planning out the future,” said Hackett. “Overall we expect to be able to offer a wider range of products for our investors.
“We are already adding staff to support the planned growth. This includes customer-facing staff in both in the customer service area and property, together with further support in the financial side.”
Hackett confirmed that none of the money raised through Kumar’s share purchase would be used to fund loans on the platform.
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