LHV Group lands £30m to capitalise new UK bank
Banking services provider LHV UK’s parent company LHV Group has raised £30 million (€35 million) via an oversubscribed rights issue.
The company says part of the proceeds from the fundraise will be used to capitalise its new UK bank – calling it a “key step” in the process of obtaining its banking licence.
By obtaining a UK banking licence, LHV Group plans to separate the business operations of its retail bank, LHV Bank, from those of LHV UK, which will be fintech focused and headquartered in London.
The company says the move will “simplify” compliance with regulatory and supervisory requirements and enable LHV UK to highlight profitability of its operations to new investors.
In February 2022, LHV UK submitted its full UK banking licence application, which is subject to regulatory approval by the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
LHV UK offers banking services to more than 200 fintech companies including Paysafe, Coinbase, Monese and Wise. Its services include instant EUR and GBP payments, agency banking, virtual IBANs, safeguarding accounts, multicurrency accounts and FX services.