London-based Starling Bank is reportedly weighing plans for a fresh funding round that could value the challenger at around £2.5bn.
Bloomberg cited people familiar with the matter as saying that the digital lender is considering raising money from its existing backers, which include Goldman Sachs.
Starling is bidding to acquire the platform of specialist mortgage lender Kensington and could use proceeds from the new funding round to expand the business’s origination capabilities, a Bloomberg source said. Kensington, which is backed by Blackstone, offers home loans to the self-employed and people over 55 years.
Starling secured £272m from investors including Fidelity Management & Research Co., Qatar Investment Authority and Millennium Management last March. According to its website, it has opened more than 2.5m accounts since launching in 2014.
According to Bloomberg, deliberations are in the early stages and no final decisions on the size or timing of any funding round have been taken.
