OakNorth adds GIC as an investor following £154m investment

Following a £154m investment from The Clermont Group, Toscafund and Coltrane, OakNorth is adding GIC as an investor.

OakNorth, which lends up to £25m to UK businesses, has grown its loan book to over £900m since its launch in September 2015 with clients including LEON and Strawberry Star.

Such loans have added more than £3.6bn to the UK’s economy, creating over 3,500 new homes and 2,300 new jobs. GIC was supposedly attracted by the growth potential of ACORN and is to assist in its expansion in the US, Asian and European markets.

Rishi Khosla, CEO and co-founder of OakNorth, commented: “We are extremely excited to have another strong investor, especially one with such a global perspective and sizeable portfolio as GIC.

“Given the recent £154m raise, there wasn’t an immediate need to take in additional capital. However, when we became aware that GIC was interested in investing, there was a collective view that it would be hugely beneficial to the company if they did, so Indiabulls agreed to sell just under 10 per cent of their stake.

“The transaction is due to close in mid-November and GIC will assist in ACORN’s global expansion, ensuring that banks and lending institutions around the world are able to originate, underwrite, monitor, and book bespoke SME loans faster, more efficiently and with more rigour.”

GIC is one of the world’s biggest sovereign wealth funds, with over £100bn of assets under management in more than 40 countries worldwide.

The business has a global presence with offices in 10 cities around the world, with a team of over 1,300 people.