Sonovate raises £110m to drive invoice finance
Finance tech provider Sonovate is looking to expand internationally and deploy more working capital to SMEs and mid-market businesses after raising £110 million, reports Jane Connolly.
The UK fintech has secured the combination of debt and equity finance in a round led by M&G Investments, MXB Holdings Inc, Rocket Internet SE and existing investor Dawn Capital.
Since its 2012 launch, Sonovate has funded almost £1 billion of invoices for recruitment agencies, consultancies and on-demand vendors. 
The company will use the funding to scale up its product and tech engineering teams, as well as expanding into new markets such as Germany, the Netherlands and the US.
“The world of work is changing rapidly with more and more highly skilled individuals deciding to work on a more contingent basis,” says Sonovate’s co-CEO, Richard Prime. “But businesses working with contract workers, including recruitment agencies and consultancy businesses, must pay their contractors multiple times before receiving payment from their clients, typically 45 to 90 days later.”
He adds: “This severely impacts cashflow and poses a huge risk to businesses – Sonovate removes this burden and risk altogether. We’re on an incredible journey, consistently doing what the banks say isn’t possible.”
Kevin Haupert, director at M&G Investments, states that the funding will enable Sonovate to unlock further much-needed capital to SMEs across the UK.
