The European Investment Fund (EIF) has committed to making a cornerstone investment in the Estateguru Senior Secured Credit Fund
The new fund has a target size of up to €170 million and is aiming to invest in senior secured SME property-backed loans originated primarily in the Baltics, Finland and Germany
The investment is made possible by the European Guarantee Fund (EGF), which is part of the European Union’s €540 billion COVID response package to support small and medium-sized companies

Estateguru, a pioneer in online financing for SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) in Europe, is preparing to launch a diversified credit fund for institutional investors. The European Investment Fund (EIF) has committed to being a cornerstone investor, using resources from the European Guarantee Fund that was set up to ensure that European small and medium businesses have sufficient financing available to mitigate the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis and are able to continue their growth and development.

The Estateguru Senior Secured Credit Fund will provide SMEs in Europe with senior financing originated via the Estateguru online lending platform. The fund's geographical focus will be mainly on Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland and Germany. The fund is a closed-ended (7+1 year) private debt fund available for qualified investors that seek exposure to this asset class. The fund’s first close is expected around the end of the second quarter of 2022.

Estateguru was launched in 2014 as a platform facilitating property-backed loans for SMEs on a large scale. To date, more than 3 300 loans have been originated by the platform for a total amount of €530 million.

“With the fund we are creating an attractive opportunity for institutional investors. It will give them access to the underserved European SME property-lending market estimated at €400 billion. Digital lending platforms like Estateguru are able to serve this market more effectively than traditional lenders and gain market share rapidly, while also offering a good return for senior secured risk to investors,” said Judith Tan, Head of Capital Markets at Estateguru.

European Investment Fund Chief Executive Alain Godard said: “With the backing of the pan-European Guarantee Fund, we are delighted to support Estateguru, a fast-growing marketplace lender that aims to provide quick and flexible financing to companies in the Baltics, Finland and Germany. The small size of target companies means that the loan amounts are small too, so SMEs have limited appeal for traditional banks and are in need of alternative sources of finance. Supporting them is key to overcoming the ongoing crisis caused by the pandemic.”

Background information

About Estateguru

Estateguru is the leading pan-European marketplace that facilitates property-backed loans for SMEs and carefully selected investment opportunities for its global investor base. It is developing a digital and borderless ecosystem for real estate financing and investing in Europe and beyond. By connecting different service providers, SMEs and investors in one single marketplace, it offers something unique that other financial institutions cannot — a seamless, cross-border and digital service for borrowers and investors. The team consists of 120 professionals of 19 different nationalities and is based in Helsinki, London, Tallinn (head office), Riga, Vilnius, Yerevan, Berlin and Amsterdam.

About the EIF

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is part of the European Investment Bank Group. Its main goal is to support microenterprises and SMEs by helping them to access financing. The EIF designs and deploys venture capital, growth capital, guarantee and microfinance instruments specifically targeted at this market segment. Its activities foster EU objectives promoting innovation, research and development, entrepreneurship, growth and job creation.

The European Guarantee Fund (EGF) was created by the EIB Group (EIB and EIF) with contributions from EU Member States to protect businesses that are struggling in the crisis caused by COVID-19. With almost €25 billion in guarantees, the EGF allows the EIB and EIF to swiftly offer companies, mostly SMEs and mid-caps, access to loans, guarantees, asset-backed securities, capital and other financial instruments. The EGF forms part of the package of recovery measures put in place by the European Union, with the objective of providing a total of €540 billion to support the hardest-hit sectors of the EU economy.

Press contacts

EIF:

Kristiina Randmaa, Tel: +352 4379 72894, k.randmaa@ext.eib.org, Follow us on Twitter@eif_eu

Website: www.eif.org - Press Office: +352 4379 21000 – press@eib.org

Estateguru:

Piret Reinson, Head of Marketing and Communication, Tel: +372 510 1984, piret.reinson@estateguru.co