Salary Finance raises £20m to support rapid growth through Covid

Dec 2020

Fresh funding raised from two FTSE 100 institutions, Legal & General and Experian. Platform distribution more than doubled in 2020, to 4 million UK and US employees.

Today, 17 December 2020, Salary Finance, the UK headquartered global FinTech platform, announced the successful completion of a £20m Series D funding round.

The round was led by two FTSE 100 institutions, Legal & General plc, an existing shareholder, and Experian plc, a new investor. The round takes the total equity raised by Salary Finance to close to £100m alongside debt funding of £500m.

Salary Finance has established itself as a global leader in the fast growing employment linked financial services market. It provides a holistic financial wellness platform to large UK and US employers, offering their employees a suite of employment and salary-linked products, including low interest loans, savings, pay advances and insurance.

The platform, focussed on improving the financial health of UK and US employees, has grown rapidly, partnering with over 500 large employers and supporting a community of 4m people. The platform has provided close to £500m in low interest loans since launch, helping employees to consolidate and pay off debts faster and at lower cost. It also helps build employee financial resilience through salary linked savings, insurance (critical illness cover and income protection) and flexible access to pay to support budgeting and access to funds in an emergency.

Covid-19 has brought into sharp focus the financial challenges of millions of working people. 6m UK adults have fallen behind on at least one household bill during the pandemic according to Citizens Advice, and 12m people in the UK have low financial resilience due to the impact of the pandemic according to the FCA.

Against this backdrop, Salary Finance has grown rapidly and is now considered a mainstream employee benefit amongst large employers. Its clients (live and onboarding) include 20% of the FTSE 100, 1 in 4 NHS Trusts, 8 of the big 10 supermarkets and retailers, and the police force. It works across 50 different employment sectors, including in higher paid sectors like accountants and law firms, with financial challenges faced across income levels. During the pandemic, Salary Finance has been available to over 1 million key workers.

The new funding will support the continued growth of the UK and US platforms, with the UK platform set to hit profitability next year. It will also fund new products the team is working on.

Asesh Sarkar, Co-founder and Global CEO at Salary Finance, commented, “2020 has been a pivotal year for the Salary Finance team and the employment linked financial services industry. Inequality in society has grown, as has the financial ill-health of millions, including those in work. Salary Finance uses employment data and a salary-link to offer better structured and better value products, that help employees become financially healthier and happier. We are grateful to our existing investors Blenheim Chalcot, Legal & General, Goldman Sachs and Royal London, and our new investor Experian, for their capital and support to enable us to grow rapidly and help millions of people.”

Bernie Hickman, CEO at L&G Insurance commented: “We are delighted to add to our investment in Salary Finance, alongside Experian. We are big believers in inclusive capitalism and using the workplace to deliver financial services, the benefits of which we have seen with our own products, and remain huge supporters of the Salary Finance team and platform. Salary Finance has delivered strong results through the challenges of 2020 and we are very excited by the growth trajectory the business is on.

Lisa Fretwell, Managing Director of Data Services at Experian UK&I, commented, “Employment linked financial services, and the provision of consented real-time employment and income data, are both huge global growth areas in finance and technology. We have been very impressed with the Salary Finance team, technology and insights, and we are delighted to be investing and partnering with them.

See press coverage from Sky News here: https://news.sky.com/story/salary-finance-lines-up-new-backer-in-experian-with-20m-fundraising-12164468