The private equity giant Warburg Pincus is circling iwoca, the fast-growing small business lender which funds tens of thousands of British SMEs.
Sky News has learnt that the buyout firm, which has an extensive pedigree in the banking and financial services industries, is among the parties in talks about a deal to buy iwoca.
An auction of the lender, which was founded by Christoph Rieche, its chief executive, and James Dear, has been underway for several weeks.
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The sale process, which is being run by bankers at Qatalyst Partners, could value iwoca at somewhere in the region of £1bn.
Last year, iwoca provided £1.5bn in SME loans, a rise of more than 50% on the previous year.
The company is backed by investors including Augmentum Fintech and Commerzbank's CommerzVentures.
Founded in 2012, it has now lent over £6bn in total.
"Since launch in 2012, we've focused relentlessly on our mission to finance underserved SMEs," Mr Rieche said recently.
"While we're now lending at scale, and announcing new products and partnerships, the funding gap continues to widen."
Warburg Pincus declined to comment.
(c) Sky News 2026: Warburg Pincus eyes takeover of small business lender iwoca
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