Despite Covid, CreditShelf sees 41.6% uplift in German SME lending revenues

Although losses widened slightly as the lender bolstered its headcount.

CreditShelf says it is “well positioned” for a strong H2 despite the Covid-19 pandemic, after reporting revenues of €2.5m in the first half of the year with lending volumes up nearly 30 per cent to €45.6m.

But while the business grew strongly, especially in the second quarter as a result of launching its €62m direct lending fund for German SMEs hit by coronavirus, its losses also swelled.

Higher staff and marketing costs as well as a move to reduce the lender’s dependence on external service providers meant losses before tax rose from €2.7m in H1 2019 to €3m this year.

"We are convinced that the Corona crisis will lead to a significant push in digitization—also in the loan business,” said CEO Dr. Tim Thabe, announcing the results.

“Furthermore, we assume that the demand for loans from German SMEs will increase significantly in the event of a rapid economic recovery, and that this will create attractive opportunities for us.” 

Earlier this summer Thabe led the launch of CreditShelf’s direct Loan Fund, with the aim of growing it from an initial €62m to over €150m.

Just under half of the money—€30m came from the EIF, with the rest from investors from Creditshelf shareholders including its two co-founders, Tim Thabe and Daniel Bartsch.

"We were able to further diversify our investor portfolio by successfully launching the CreditShelf Loan Fund,” said Bartsch, also CreditShelf’s chief operating officer.

“The fund's resources, which can be expanded to up to €150m following the already completed first closing, further strengthen the institutional investor base on our platform through the involvement of the European Investment Fund and secure refinancing in the medium term.”