€185m · Debt · Fintech · London, UK
London-based SME lender iwoca has secured a €185m debt refinancing line for its German business from ABN AMRO and Neuberger. The company says ABN AMRO is the sole senior lender, while Neuberger provides the mezzanine tranche. The facility lifts refinancing available to iwoca's German operation above €560m and is intended to fund more loans to small and medium-sized businesses. It is lending capacity for customer credit, not an equity investment in iwoca.
A funding line that expands with the loan book
iwoca offers German businesses loans from €1,000 to €500,000 and says applications can receive a decision within 48 hours. Handelsblatt reports that the average German loan is about €30,000–€35,000. That small-ticket, high-volume model makes refinancing capacity part of the product: every new customer draw creates another receivable that needs funding.
The senior-and-mezzanine structure divides that risk between providers. ABN AMRO supplies the senior tranche, which sits higher in the repayment order, while Neuberger's mezzanine capital takes a subordinated position. For iwoca, combining the two increases the amount it can deploy without treating the full €185m as unrestricted corporate cash. The commercial payoff therefore depends on how much of the line is drawn into performing SME loans.
Germany tests underwriting at greater scale
According to iwoca's announcement, its German loan book has more than doubled over the past year to almost €400m across roughly 13,000 active borrowers. The new facility could take its German exposure close to €600m. By 2028, the company is targeting a €1bn loan book and 30,000–35,000 active customers.
Those targets turn credit performance into the central execution question. Faster origination only creates durable growth if underwriting, collections and funding costs keep pace as the portfolio expands. ABN AMRO said iwoca helps fill a gap in German SME finance, while Neuberger pointed to the lender's origination experience and risk assessment. Their participation adds capacity, but continued institutional support will ultimately be tested by losses and recoveries in the larger book.
The facility follows broader growth at the group. iwoca reported 2025 revenue of £366m, up 56%, and €1.7bn of SME lending, compared with about €1.11bn the year before. It says it has advanced roughly €7bn to UK and German businesses since being founded in London in 2012. The new German line gives that lending model more room to scale; the next evidence will be how much of the capacity becomes well-performing customer credit.
