Ex-TSB chief Paul Pester joins UK wealthtech start-up Firenze as chair
UK-based embedded finance platform Firenze has named former TSB Bank CEO Paul Pester as chair of its newly formed board.
Mike Toole (L), Paul Pester (R) and Samantha Bamert join Firenze’s board
Pester is to be joined on the board by former Barclays exec Samantha Bamert and Artorius co-founder Mike Toole, who have been named as non-executive directors.
Launched in January, Firenze aims to democratise access to Lombard loans for customers in the UK through an embedded solution for wealth managers, brokers and investment platforms.
Historically reserved for private banks’ super wealthy clients, Lombard lending enables investors to secure loans without having to sell investments by leveraging assets such as stocks, bonds and other securities as collateral.
A real world example of this includes Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter in 2022, when the SpaceX founder used Tesla stock valued at $6.25 billion to secure part of a larger $44 billion loan for the purchase.
Firenze says it believes this process “has a wider application” and is aiming to “expand its access”.
It currently offers loans starting from £65,000, and has applied to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to reduce this limit to £25,000 from “next year”.
The start-up has already secured £750,000 in pre-seed funding to support its growth, counting the likes of Andreessen Horowitz, Atomico, Ada Ventures and Lakestar as early backers.
As the new chair, Pester describes Lombard lending as “one of the best kept secrets of the super wealthy”, and with political speculation around increases to capital gains tax heating up, says Firenze “could not have come at a better time”.
