Allica Bank, a UK small business lender, is seeking to expand into the European market. The company has submitted an application for a banking licence to the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, known as Finansinspektionen.
This move represents Allica Bank's initial expansion beyond the UK. Earlier this year, the firm secured a $155m funding round, which valued the bank at close to $1.2bn.
Over the past year, Allica's loanbook saw approximately £1.3bn in new originations, increasing its total portfolio by 23 per cent to just over £3bn. Richard Davies, Allica's chief executive, stated the bank would not be entering Europe without a proven model in the UK.
Other UK fintechs are also focusing on Europe, with consumer payments platform Zilch acquiring Fjord Bank for a European banking licence, and neobank Monzo shifting its focus to the European market.