UK fintech Selina Finance raises $150m in Series B funding round

Consumer lending fintech Selina Finance has raised a total of $150 million in a Series B round made up of a combination of equity and debt financing.

Selina expects UK demand to “rocket” over the next five years

The firm secured $35 million in equity funding led by Lightrock with additional participation from existing investors.

Additionally, $115 million in debt was secured from Goldman Sachs and GGC to fund further expansion as Selina builds towards going public.

Founded in 2019, Selina describes itself as “the UK’s first Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) fintech”. It enables homeowners to unlock the value in their homes by borrowing against their equity at low interest rates with a flexible line of credit, only paying for the funds they use.

The practice is already widespread in the US, where the market is valued at $150 billion annually.

Since it gained regulatory approval for consumer lending in 2020, Selina says it has made over $100 million (£74m) worth of loans via its HELOC product in the UK.

In July 2020, the start-up completed a £42 million Series A fundraise, with £12 million in equity and £30 million in debt to distribute as loans.

The company plans to launch a card product in 2022 to put HELOC funds into people’s pockets and make the cash easier to spend.

Selina co-founder and COO Leonard Benning says: “European consumers are structurally under-served and homeowners cannot access their wealth in an affordable or flexible way with existing products.

“UK consumers are always early adopters of new finance products and we are confident that UK consumers will see the benefits of HELOCs and adopt them too.”

Selina co-founder and CEO Hubert Fenwick adds the company expects demand for HELOCs to “rocket” in the UK over the next five years.