October, the leading lending platform in continental Europe, acquires its competitor Credit.fr, the second largest lending platform for French SMEs and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tikehau Capital since 2017.
Supporting the growth of SMEs through private and institutional lenders
Credit.fr is the second largest lending platform for French SMEs in terms of volume pro- cessed (EUR 115 million). Since its launch in 2015, the company has completed more than 900 financings.
The new entity will thus represent more than EUR 860 million lent to 3,100 European companies in France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Germany.
Through this acquisition, October will be able to complete its know-how and enrich its processes to meet the financing needs of SMEs.
Expanding into new markets
Through this transaction, October is pursuing its growth strategy based on the devel- opment of its business lending activity and the sale of its technology, in a SaaS mode, to financial institutions with October Connect.
The lending activity is driven by strong growth: +72% in 2021. This growth is financed by more than 40,000 active individuals and major European institutions (Allianz, Bpifrance, CDC, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, European Investment Fund, Generali, Groupama, ICO, Invest NL, Zencap, etc.).
Launched 18 months ago, the October Connect business already represents 15% of Oc- tober's turnover and is acquiring its first major references such as Bpifrance.
The SaaS technology October Connect helps banks such as Bpifrance and asset manag- ers to enrich their risk analysis and detect fraud. It allows them to optimise their pro- cesses for better decision making thanks to data.
“Our objective is to offer the best financing solutions to SMEs to support their develop- ment. At the same time, we offer our investors, both institutional and private, the op- portunity to support the growth of these companies. The expertise of the Credit.fr teams in this area is recognised; we have followed their work with great interest. We are there- fore delighted to see our teams merge and strengthen each other.” explains Patrick de Nonneville, CEO of October.
Maxime Gely, President of Credit.fr and who becomes COO of October France, com- ments: “This new venture is an opportunity for Credit.fr's loyal lenders to have ever more varied investment opportunities. Over the past few years, October's teams have demonstrated their know-how: we are proud to be able to offer our historical users the benefit of such operational excellence.”
"In five years, Credit.fr has become the second largest lending platform for French SMEs. With its European scope, October is now a leading platform in its market and is a partner of choice to continue the development of Credit.fr. We fully share the strategic vision of its management team and are pleased to support the development of the new entity." said Henri Marcoux, Deputy Managing Director of Tikehau Capital.
