Tide, the fast-growing SME-focused banking services platform, is closing in on a new share sale worth more than £50m as it expands its presence in the UK and abroad.
The company is understood to be in talks with investment banks, including Morgan Stanley, about overseeing the primary fundraising in the coming months.
Sources say the latest round may involve issuing new stock as well as giving existing shareholders an opportunity to sell part of their stake. It is not yet clear what the value of the new currency will be.
Founded in 2015 by George Bevis and Errol Damelin, Tide began trading two years later. The company currently provides business current accounts and a range of related services – from invoicing to accounting – to 650,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) “members” in the UK, giving it a market share of around 11 %.
Tide, which employs about 2,000 people, is also expanding internationally. It now serves 400,000 SMEs in India, and in May 2024 it will be launched in Germany. Its backers include Apax Partners, Augmentum Fintech and LocalGlobe, and it is led by Mayor Sir Donald Brydon.
A Tide spokesman declined to comment.
