Younited and M&G Investments establish a 300M€ partnership in Italy
Younited, the European fintech member of the #Next40, and M&G Investments (“M&G”), the international asset manager, today announce the formation of a €300 million partnership. Through this agreement, funds managed by M&G purchased a portfolio of EUR 180 million from Younited and are committing a further EUR 120 million to purchase future consumer loans originated by Younited in Italy, its second largest market.
Since launch in France in late 2011, Younited has built a leading digital payment and lending consumer credit platform in continental Europe with a presence in the Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and more recently German markets. More than 40% of the fintech’s revenues are now generated outside of France, its home country.
In Italy, Younited employs 70 people, is active across both B2C and B2B, and launched its customisable and regulated payment product earlier this year. Since starting to operate in the country from Rome in April 2016, Younited has originated in excess of half a billion euro of loans and most recently delivered 100% year-on-year growth over the first 7 months of 2021.
“We are proud and excited about this fruitful collaboration with M&G. We have witnessed
growing demand from international investors for consumer loans in the current low interest
rate environment, but also increased scrutiny on track-record and origination standards since
the start of Covid-19. With this significant investment and our cutting-edge credit scoring
models, Younited will be able to expand its offering to even more customers.”
Alexandra Solnik, Chief Capital Markets Officer at Younited
This transaction with M&G follows on Younited first public ABS securitization of French consumer loans, launched in 2019, Youni 2019-1, that obtained a Aaa/AAA2 rating on its senior tranche, demonstrating the strength of the firm’s origination, underwriting and scoring models. BNP Paribas acted as arranger on the transaction and is providing senior financing.
“This partnership provides an excellent opportunity to obtain exposure to a high-quality portfolio of Italian consumer loans, originated by an experienced European lending platform. Companies such as Younited, that are able to leverage cutting-edge technologies to offer customers a fully digital journey and the potential for more competitive pricing, provide an attractive proposition for borrowers and investors alike. As an investor with partnerships with several fintech lenders, we look forward to supporting Younited on their growth journey.”
Jerome Henrion, Head of Specialty Finance at M&G
Jones Day acted as legal counsel to BNP Paribas