One of the biggest spend management platforms in Europe, Pleo, has obtained debt financing from HSBC Innovation Banking, the specialized financial partner arm of the HSBC Group for the innovation economy, totaling €40 million (US$42 million).

Pleo will be able to provide more consumers with bigger credit limits and additional financial solutions with more flexibility thanks to the partnership. Pleo anticipates that the results of its most recent capital round will enable it to reach a wider range of markets and currency pairs than ever before.

Pleo: Increasing market share in Europe

In fact, in addition to Pleo's home country of Denmark, its overdraft services are currently in use in Sweden, Germany, and the UK.

Now that it has secured its most recent investment, Pleo intends to spur more expansion throughout Europe. In the upcoming weeks, the company plans to provide its overdraft services in the Netherlands.

A lengthy cost-of-living issue has increased the need for services like Pleo's, since more SMEs require overdraft capabilities to make ends meet and stay afloat.

The average firm has had 6% of its total transactions failing for lack of funding in only the previous six months.

Pleo will be able to help clients with this pain point and enhance its reputation in the areas it serves now that it has collaborated with HSBC Innovation Banking, which will spur further growth on top of its already remarkable growth statistics.

VP of Credit and Treasury at Pleo, Amit Kahana, states: "We are thrilled to announce our collaboration with HSBC Innovation Banking. Our debt financing facility, which has a starting point of €40 million, may be extended in accordance with future needs. This will allow us to reach even more countries, raise restrictions, and provide a wider range of currencies.

"We anticipate seeing exciting developments over the next 12 months as we prepare to launch in even more markets, beyond this historic partnership and our impending launch in the Netherlands."

The most recent statement from Pleo follows the December 2023 announcement of Søren Westh Lonning as the company's new CFO.

"This transaction demonstrates HSBC Innovation Banking's capabilities to provide multi-currency, multi-jurisdictional facilities to support leading credit originators launching new and innovative products," says Conor Sheehy, Managing Director and Head of Warehouse Finance, HSBC Innovation Banking UK.

"We are pleased to be able to offer Pleo this space and look forward to helping them to maintain their trajectory of global expansion."

The most recent fundraising round for Pleo from HSBC Innovation Banking comes after a comparable debt financing round for Liberis in December 2023, which fueled the latter's expansion throughout Europe and North America.