Souter firm invests in fintech providing retail finance

Souter Investments, the family investment office of Stagecoach Group co-founder and chairman Sir Brian Souter, is to provide funding to an English fintech offering interest-free-only credit.

Sir Brian Souter's family investment office is backing English fintech DivideBuy. Picture: Contributed

DivideBuy, which allows retailers to provide interest-free credit as a purchasing option for their customers, has 300,000 account holders and partnerships with more than 400 retailers.

The fintech will use the undisclosed amount provided by Souter, alongside investment from Jon Moulton’s Perscitus and debt financing from Shawbrook and Paragon banks, to offer more UK retailers access to its technology.

Calum Cusiter, investment director at Souter, will join the DivideBuy board following the transaction.

He said: “DivideBuy represents an exciting opportunity for Souter Investments to support a fast growing, and innovative fintech business with a highly backable and passionate management team.”

The fintech underwrites 100 per cent of its own lending, which it claims gives “full control and complete transparency to retailer partners and consumers”.

DivideBuy co-founders Max Thowless-Reeves, chairman, and Rob Flowers, chief executive, said: “This investment by leading private equity players and banks in DivideBuy reflects the value that our business model and technology creates for retailers and customers and our progress as an organisation.”