Banco Santander launches a new offer of services and products for innovative startups, which includes a fund with 100 million euros created together with the management company Inveready with which recently created companies will be able to obtain financing in exchange for a minimum stake in the company . Santander will contribute 67 million euros to this vehicle, while the alternative asset manager will provide the remaining 33 million, forming the largest ‘venture debt’ fund in the country.
The fund is aimed at technology companies with growth potential, which have already passed their first investment round. The capital of the operations is flexible, between 500,000 euros and 5 million. Ángel Rivera, executive director of the Bank in Spain, has pointed out that the initiative offers solutions “not only to facilitate the take-off of new companies, but also so that they can consolidate their growth.”
The entity offers, through Santander Corporate & Investment Banking (Santander CIB), different products for companies in more advanced stages that seek to continue growing, such as a variety of debt products or professional advice on processes such as mergers and acquisitions, exits stock market and debt restructuring. For startups that have not yet achieved positive EBITDA but have capital, the entity has specific financing lines adapted to their level of risk.
non-financial offer
In addition to the financial part, Santander has other types of solutions to promote entrepreneurship such as the entity’s 26 Work Cafés throughout Spain, as well as figures destined to coordinate these initiatives in the different teams of the company.
The new offering of products to promote startups joins initiatives such as Santander Growth or Santander X, which offer corporate banking, training, advice and recognition services to companies in the growth and consolidation phase.
In addition to this, the entity makes other services available at no cost, such as the Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub online platform, which provides help with technological resources. On the other hand, the Santander Trade platform also offers facilities for the international expansion of companies.
Financing alternatives
For the most consolidated companies, Santander created the Smart Fund in 2014, thanks to which more than 200 companies have received financing and advice for their long-term growth. After an investment of 800 billion euros, companies such as Innovamat or Wallbox have achieved great growth results.
Finally, the Tresmares financing platform, launched in 2020, is also intended to contribute to the growth of SMEs, especially through financing with ‘direct lending’, and operates in the United Kingdom and Portugal as well as in Spain.
