City of London Group announces £30m capital raise – paves way to launch new bank to serve UK’s SME sector
This capital raise further paves the way for COLG to launch Recognise, a new bank that will service the UK SME market, once Authorisation with Restriction as a Bank has been received later in the year.
COLG believes that the underserved small-to-medium enterprise (SME) lending segment in the UK represents a significant opportunity. The growth of the banking sector has accelerated over the last decade and it continues to evolve. At the same time, the SME sector – now with over 5.7m businesses in the UK – is witnessing change when it comes to securing funding and savings needs.
Michael Goldstein, CEO of COLG, said:
“Given the highly challenging environment facing the world economy today, we are delighted to have achieved this level of support from a prestigious global investor. This acknowledges the quality of what we have delivered as a business thus far, the excellent plan we have in place, and the fantastic team we have built to do this, as well as the importance of the UK’s under-banked SME sector to our national economy.”
Dayan Nahon, managing director & CIO at RG Advisors said:
“The City of London Group has an excellent management team and a very compelling plan. In particular, we believe that the strength of the Recognise team brings an extraordinary opportunity to help prospective customers who have long been underserved by the current banking market. RG Advisors is looking forward to playing a full part in their future growth.”
RG Advisors is the private family office of Ms Ruth Parasol. Ms Parasol is one of the few self-made female billionaires in the world, she was a founder of and early mover of an on-line gambling business. As a successful entrepreneur, she has the relevant experience to back a new entrepreneurial SME bank.