Investment and pension provider Prosper is establishing a back office operation in Cardiff that will create 100 new jobs, following its latest investment round.
The fintech start-up has secured a £520,000 equity investment from the Development Bank of Wales and a syndicate of 11 business angels, who include co-founder and former chief executive of Wales’ only FTSE 100 company in car insurance to loans group Admiral.
Prosper was established in 2021 by Nick Perrett and Ricky Knox who previously worked together to build Tandem Bank, which has an operation in Cardiff employing 250. The team also includes Phil Bungey who was previously chief operating officer at wealth-tech firm Nutmeg.
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With the backing of the founders of Monzo, Capital One and Admiral, Prosper has now raised pre-seed investment of over £4m. Lead investor Simon Bell, the founder of fintech and insurtech angel group Rebel Syndicates leads the syndicate of business angels investing £270,000. Their invested has been match funded with £250,000 by the Development Bank of Wales via its £8m Wales Angel Co-investment Fund.
Hugh James acted for the angel syndicate and Wales Angel Co-Investment Fund. Law firm Burges Salmon advised Prosper.
Prosper provides pensions, investments and savings. Founding members benefit from zero fee access to 30 index funds from the world’s leading asset managers, with platform and transaction fees. In the future Prosper said it will charge members a fair platform fee and low, fair and transparent fees for any other investment products that the company thinks represent value.
Mr Knox, chairman of Prosper said: “It’s great that Prosper is supported by Angels Invest Wales and Welsh angels in our latest funding. Receiving support from David Stevens, the man who helped to create Welsh unicorn Admiral, is a particular vote of confidence in Prosper’s mission. We’re excited to grow our base in Wales over time, building on the success we had in the region with our previous business Tandem, with the creation of up to 100 jobs.”
Mr Bell, lead investor said: “This is a team of experienced fintech entrepreneurs with a proven track record in setting-up and scaling banking businesses. It’s a real coup for Wales given that Tandem Bank is now one of the leading green banks in the Ƶ. ”
Tom Preene operations manager for Angels Invest Wales, said: “This is a great opportunity for the development bank to back a highly experienced syndicate of business angels in helping to drive the growth of Prosper in Wales. Their knowledge and investment combined with our match funding is what will drive the growth of this promising business; creating jobs and leveraging value for the Welsh economy.”
Prosper has taken space at the 1 Capital Quarter office scheme in Cardiff for its new operation - which also serves as the headquarters for the development bank.
