Firenze raises £6m to expand embedded Lombard platform for portfolio-backed loans
This article covers Firenze, a fintech startup, raising £6m in a growth funding round to expand its embedded Lombard lending platform. The funding aims to accelerate product development, partner roll-out and international expansion, supporting wealth managers, advisers and mass affluent investors seeking short-term, portfolio-backed liquidity.
Firenze has raised £6 million in a growth funding round to expand its embedded Lombard lending platform, which lets wealth managers offer loans secured against investment portfolios so clients can access liquidity without selling assets. The funding aims to accelerate product development, partner roll-out and international expansion as demand for flexible, portfolio-backed lending grows.
Why it matters
Lombard lending has traditionally been the preserve of private banks and high-net-worth clients. By packaging it as an embedded service for wealth managers and platforms, Firenze is attempting to broaden access to short-term, asset-backed liquidity for mass affluent investors and advisers.
The timing matters: Firenze says drawn facility volumes tripled in the first quarter, with borrowers using loans as alternatives to property bridging, to fund education or home purchases, and to support tax and inter-generational planning without disrupting portfolios. Private banks are also reportedly interested in the platform to improve efficiency and extend lending to assets they do not custody.
Inside the product
Firenze offers an embedded finance platform and a SaaS proposition that handles custody, capital and compliance requirements for Lombard loans. The company says loans can be arranged rapidly, often within 24 hours, and that the platform reduces operational cost for wealth managers and investment platforms.
Over the last 12 months Firenze has on-boarded independent financial advisers, wealth management firms and investment platforms across the UK, and now counts partners representing almost £200 billion in assets under management. Notable partners include Brooks Macdonald (a UK wealth manager), Canaccord Wealth (wealth management firm), Artorius (investment and advisory group), Lincoln (wealth manager), Cerno (advice and investment firm), Parmenion (investment platform), P1 (platform services) and Soderberg (financial services firm). These relationships provide distribution and a pipeline of borrowers for portfolio-backed lending.
Who are the investors?
The round is led by AlbionVC, with participation from Outward VC and Form Ventures. Outward VC previously led Firenze's seed round.
In the announcement, Jay Wilson, Partner at AlbionVC, said:
Firenze has built the foundational infrastructure layer to power the next generation of collateralized credit products - starting with Lombard Lending. We're proud to support the team as they scale. Lombard lending has been one of private banking's most powerful tools, yet the vast majority of investors have had no access to it. Firenze is democratising this access, bringing Lombard lending to the mass affluent segment. David and the team have executed exceptionally, signing partners covering over £200bn in assets and delivering a platform that solves the custody, capital, and compliance challenges simultaneously. That combination of market timing and product depth gave us the conviction to lead this round.
In the announcement, Andi Kazeroonian, Principal at Outward VC, said:
When we led Firenze's seed round, we backed David's vision to bring Lombard lending beyond the walls of large private banks. Twelve months on, the progress has exceeded our expectations – including a five-fold increase in its partner network, a rapidly growing loan book, and a SaaS proposition that's attracting leading banks and financial institutions – as has the vision for its future. Firenze is now proving that the credit infrastructure it has built can reshape how the entire wealth industry thinks about liquidity. We're proud to continue our support as the company enters this exciting next phase of growth.
If you're researching potential backers in this space:
- Explore our list of fintech venture capital firms in the UK
- Browse our directory of fintech angel investors in the UK
Founder perspective
In the announcement, David Newman, Co-founder & CEO at Firenze, said:
The market demand for Firenze’s solution has exceeded our expectations and as a result our vision has got more and more ambitious. We, therefore, felt now was the right time to take on further capital to accelerate our plans. When seeking a partner to work with for this next phase of growth Jay and Albion stood out. I ultimately believe passion and trust are the two most important attributes when choosing a VC to work with and Jay & Albion have demonstrated that time and time again through the process of getting to know one another. We also feel honoured by the continued support of our existing investors who have shown ever growing enthusiasm for the momentum behind Firenze.
Firenze was founded in Manchester in 2024 and is led by Newman. Paul Pester is chairman; he previously served as CEO of TSB Bank and Virgin Money and brings banking and regulatory experience relevant to lending expansion and partnership with incumbent banks.
The bigger picture
Firenze’s approach sits at the intersection of embedded finance, digital lending infrastructure and wealth management. If platforms can reliably underwrite and administer Lombard loans at scale, advisers and platforms gain a non-disruptive liquidity tool to offer clients, and banks gain a way to extend lending to customers whose assets sit off balance sheet.
The funding will be deployed to expand partnerships, develop additional product capabilities including an agentic credit structurer for banks, enhance the SaaS offering and enter new jurisdictions. Firenze also plans to more than double its team to support growing borrower demand.
The deal reflects growing interest from fintech investors in infrastructure that modernises legacy credit products and opens them to a broader market.
Firenze’s progress points to a wider shift in the UK and European wealth ecosystem: more specialised fintechs are building the plumbing for traditional banking products to be delivered through digital advisers, platforms and challenger banks. As regulatory attention on consumer lending and custody remains high, how these firms balance growth with compliance will shape the pace at which Lombard-style lending becomes widely available.
They've invested in Firenze
Get to know these fintech investors
Click here for a full list of 7,589+ startup investors in the UK