Recruitment lender Sonovate raises £110m from M&G, Dawn Capital and Bebo founders

Co-CEO Richard Prime says Sonovate has now leant almost £1bn since 2012.

A specialist invoice finance platform aimed at the recruitment industry wrapped up a bumper funding round this weekend.

Sonovate, which launched in 2012 and has funded almost £1bn of invoices, has secured a £110m debt and equity finance round led by M&G Investments, Dawn Capital, Rocket Internet and MXB Holdings, the investment group which includes Bebo founders Michael and Xochi Birch.

The Series C funding will be used for developing Sonovate’s core product, as well as international expansion into Germany, the Netherlands and the US.

“Businesses working with contract workers, including recruitment agencies and consultancy businesses, must pay their contractors multiple times before receiving payment from their clients, typically 45 to 90 days later,” said Sonovate’s co-CEO Richard Prime.

“This severely impacts cashflow and poses a huge risk to businesses—Sonovate removes this burden and risk altogether.”

Sonovate last raised money in 2016—a £14m Series B of debt and equity led by Global Founders Capital and Dawn Capital.

Michael Birch, co-founder of MXB Holdings and founder of social networking site Bebo, said: 

“Richard and Damon’s vision to make it a reality for people to get paid when they need to access funds resonates with our team. Sonovate’s product expansion plans are very exciting and creates huge opportunities for the contingent workspace.”