The traditional SME finance process is dysfunctional, lengthy, and inefficient, contributing to an estimated the SME funding gap of £59 billion in the UK, £630 billion in Europe, and £6.2 trillion in developing economies.1 For institutional lenders, the high cost of acquisition, low conversion rates, and inefficient processes present barriers that are estimated to contribute towards a £1 trillion gap in lost potential institutional lending.2
Founded in 2013, CODE's mission was to fix the broken SME finance experience by delivering greater funding certainty and speed to SMEs, serving institutions looking for yield, and bringing them together more efficiently through the effective use of data,
technology, and toolsets.
CODE's platform enables two solutions to address the dysfunction of the traditional borrowing process:
- Marketplace: A “one-stop-shop” for SME finance, providing institutions with cost-effective, direct lending access to qualified SMEs and offering SME borrowers a more streamlined, transparent experience. The Company
has relationships with over 60 institutional lenders along with formal strategic partnerships with a large European asset manager, a listed parent company of SME service providers, and a UK-based bank specialising in equipment and vehicle
financing.
- Platform-as-as-Service (“PaaS”): For organisations that lack existing infrastructure, the CODE Platform can be easily configured to customer requirements to deliver an end-to-end lending capability without costly investment.
To support its PaaS business, the Company entered into a global distribution partnership with a £4 billion IT services and business process outsourcing firm; it has been selected as a preferred partner by a PIF-backed company in KSA.
The Company has invested c. £13m in debt and equity financing to develop its business model and the CODE Platform, built in-house using practices and experience gained from financial institutions like HSBC and First Direct.
In the financial year ending 31 March 2019, the Company generated revenues of c. £115k, a gross profit of c. £108k. In 2018, the Company generated revenues of £181k and a gross profit of £164k.