WHY THIS MATTERS: The significant Series D raise and the resulting $1.2 billion valuation for Allica Bank underscore a critical realignment within the challenger banking sector. The era of focusing exclusively on micro-SMBs is passing; the real battleground is now the established, mid-market commercial segment—businesses with significant lending needs that traditional high-street banks have systemically underserved. Allica’s success, evidenced by its rapid balance sheet growth and UK fastest-growing company accolades, validates the strategy of building a proprietary, full-stack platform tailored for this complex group. The most potent signal here is the explicit commitment to investing the capital into AI-driven lending. This focus on leveraging artificial intelligence to overhaul both front-end and back-office credit decisioning is the essential fintech trend that will define competitive advantage in the next five years. This move not only fuels growth but establishes a clear technology moat, assuring investors and customers of superior speed, reliability, and trust in Digital SME Banking
Allica Bank, the leading digital bank for small and medium businesses (SMBs), has announced a $155m Series D capital raise from Ventura Capital, GLG , Sona AM and existing investors TCV and Blue Owl. The majority of the round consists of common equity, alongside a portion of new additional Tier 1 equity capital.
Allica is the category defining digital bank for established SMBs (businesses with typically 5-250 employees), providing a full stack of services using proprietary technology.
The round values Allica at close to $1.2 billion, and comes on the back of Allica being named the fastest growing technology company in the UK by Deloitte in both 2023 and 2024, the fastest growing private company in the UK in 2024 by The Sunday Times and the second fastest growing company of any kind in Europe by The Financial Times as recently as 2025.
The capital will fuel Allica’s continued lending growth and deepen investment into Allica’s proprietary technology stack, including using AI to revolutionise lending opportunities for established SMB businesses, while expanding outside of its UK home market for the first time.
Over the past five years, Allica’s balance sheet has scaled to nearly £4 billion of SMB loans, and over £5bn of deposits – and in 2023 launched its award-winning Business Rewards Account.
Allica now serves over 30,000 established SMB businesses across the UK, around 5% of its target market, and is targeting 10% market penetration amongst established SMBs by 2028.
Mo El Husseiny, Managing Partner of Ventura Capital: “Allica is a world class business that is executing exceptionally well in a large, underserved market. Ventura is proud to be a major investor in Allica’s Series D and we are raring to support this exceptional team’s next stage of growth into international markets.”
John Doran, General Partner at TCV: “Allica’s proprietary full-stack technology is world-class – and provides a truly differentiated edge in SMB banking.”
Michael Kalfayan, General Partner at TCV: “Allica solves what customers have long been asking for – speed, reliability and trust – reflected in its outstanding performance in recent years. Looking ahead, we see Allica as a frontrunner in applying AI across front and back office processes in financial services, and we are excited to support the team’s ambition to fundamentally improve SMB banking across Europe.”
Richard Davies, CEO of Allica: “We’re building the category defining digital bank for established SMBs, and are excited to be taking our proprietary platform into new markets. This Series D investment is a major vote of confidence in Allica’s strategy and performance.”
FF NEWS TAKE: This funding unequivocally moves the needle, providing formidable capital for Allica to aggressively pursue its 10% market penetration goal in the UK. The $1.2 billion valuation is a strong vote of confidence in their profitable focus on the established mid-market segment. The key elements to watch next are the execution risks concerning AI-driven lending and international expansion. Success will hinge on Allica’s ability to quickly port its proprietary platform and maintain its operational velocity as it enters new European jurisdictions.
Read the orginal article: https://ffnews.com/newsarticle/funding/allica-bank-raises-155m-series-d-round-to-accelerate-uk-growth-and-tech-investment-and-commence-international-expansion/
