North West-based debt and equity capital provider Praetura Group is looking to invest in 13 new early-stage businesses this year following a ‘record’ £253m year.
The firm also announced it plans to hire a further three operational partners to support Praetura Ventures’ portfolio founders with mentorship and advice. Dominic McGregor, co-founder and former chief operating officer at Social Chain, is among four of the firm’s current operational partners.
Praetura Ventures, based in Manchester, invested in eight new companies including BankiFi, Coadjute and Maxwellia. After supporting Manchester-based AI firm Peak from seed stage, Praetura also took part in Peak’s $75m Series C fundraise, led by global investment giant SoftBank.
The Praetura Group lending division, which comprises Praetura Asset Finance, Praetura Commercial Finance, Praetura Invoice Finance and Kingsway Finance, also revealed plans to grow its combined loanbook to more than £300m by the end of 2022.
Peadar O’Reilly (pictured, right), managing director of the Praetura lending division, said: “The rise of specialist finance has stemmed from businesses demanding greater flexibility from lenders. We’re so proud of what the team has achieved in 2021 and we’re excited to build on this success. Praetura lending businesses are targeting a combined £300m loanbook by the end of 2022.”
The Group currently employs more than 100 people across three offices in the North West and is working on developing tech-enabled services to help scale its equity and debt solutions.
