UK-based Lombard lending fintech firm Firenze has successfully closed a £2.5m seed funding round.

Firenze is seeking to open up Lombard lending to mass affluent investors with less than £1m in assets, as it targets an offering of more than £1bn in lending over the next three years.

The funding round was led by Outward VC, the backer of Curve, PrimaryBid and Vauban.

It also included fintech investors Portfolio Ventures, backer of PensionBee and Credit Kudos, and Form Ventures, which backed Ophelos and Sylvera.

Other participants in the funding round included existing investors and new co-investors, including Man Group founder, Lord Fink.

Firenze said its proprietary embedded finance platform “empowered” wealth managers to offer low-interest lending solutions without selling their assets or moving custody, broadening access beyond the £1m plus minimum requirement required by private banks.

The fintech is already partnering with wealth managers with approximately £75bn in assets under management.

It recently entered into a strategic partnership with Monument Bank to expand its Lombard lending access to wealth management clients, with Monument making an initial £160m funding line commitment.

Commenting on the closure of the seed funding round, Firenze CEO, David Newman, said: "We are thrilled to have Outward, Form, Portfolio Ventures and an incredible range of angel investors backing our vision to broaden access to Lombard lending.

“Market demand has far exceeded our expectations, and this funding enables us to accelerate Firenze’s rollout to more wealth managers, support their advisers and drive awareness on the benefits of Lombard lending.

“Having Andi and the Outward team lead this round is a privilege. From the outset, it was clear we shared a vision for building a category defining, venture-scale leader in Lombard lending.

“Firenze is at the forefront of this market and this investment allows us to move even faster toward that goal.”

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