Zopa, the British-based digital bank, is to cement its status as a home-grown technology unicorn with an £80m fundraising which includes money from an arm of the vast AP Moller conglomerate.
Sky News has learnt that Zopa is this week close to finalising a share sale which had been under discussion with investors for months.
City sources said on Wednesday that the company had secured the new money from a number of existing investors, including Silverstripe, as well as an investment division of AP Moller.
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Zopa’s other shareholders include SoftBank, the Japanese technology giant.
An announcement about the fundraising, which is expected to value Zopa at a slight premium to its last round, could be made shortly.
Zopa was founded in 2004 and became a pioneer in the burgeoning peer-to-peer sector.
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It has since pivoted to focus on more mainstream banking services.
The company recently struck a deal with the John Lewis Partnership to offer personal loans to the retailer’s customers.
JP Morgan is understood to have advised Zopa on the funding round.
The latest raise underlines Zopa’s recovery from a rocky period in 2019, when it scrambled to raise £140m in order to avoid losing its fledgling banking licence.
Earlier this year, it reported a full-year profit for the first time – a key milestone on the path to an anticipated public listing of its shares.
Zopa is among the companies being courted by the London Stock Exchange and Treasury officials to choose London as its listing venue.
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Others in that category include Monzo and Starling Bank, although Revolut dealt the City a blow this week when its founder reiterated that he would prefer a US listing.
Klarna, the buy now, pay later provider, has filed for an initial public offering in New York.
Zopa has been contacted for comment.
