Starling Bank secures £40 million in new funding

The investment from Starling’s existing investors follows a £60 million injection of capital in February, bringing the total raised by the digital bank this year to £100 million

Starling Bank has raised £40 million in a funding round led by JTC and Merian Chrysalis Investment Company.

The investment from Starling’s existing investors follows a £60 million injection of capital in February, bringing the total raised by the digital bank this year to £100 million. Since its launch in 2014, Starling has raised £363 million.

Starling now has more than 1.4 million current accounts, including 155,000 business accounts, since launching its banking app in May 2017. Its deposit base has more than doubled in the last six months and it now holds more than £2.4 billion on deposit.

The digital bank is also positioning itself as the go-to provider for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Europe and now holds a 2.6% share of the UK’s SME banking market. It has almost £500 million of SME lending on its balance sheet, with further commitments raising the total to almost £1 billion. 

The new funding will enable the bank to continue its rapid growth and help it provide much-needed support to small business customers who have been hit by the Covid-19 outbreak. 

Starling stepped up its lending to SMEs in May, via a collaboration, for £300 million under the government-backed Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and direct to its customers under its own CBIL and Bounce Back Loan Schemes.

Anne Boden, founder and chief executive of Starling Bank, said: “This additional funding from our existing investors demonstrates their commitment both to Starling and to our small business and personal customers who need our support now more than ever.”

Image: Shutterstock

Mark Dugdale