Following last week's seed round, and reflecting on a number of moves, the CEO of Lombard lending business Firenze talked to this publication.

Firenze, a UK fintech that says it is redefining Lombard lending, is determined to open up the market beyond the ranks of HNW clients, while also pushing further into the wealth management territory. Last week, the firm closed a £2.5 million ($3.23 million) seed funding round.

“The opening up of Lombard lending outside of private banking is a huge opportunity. We want to build up in the next seven years in the UK to £5 billion loans book and £1 billion in the next three years. We can do this via advisors and wealth managers,” David Newman (main picture), CEO of the firm, told WealthBriefing in a recent call. 

Firenze is part of a trend of moving away from private banks and towards boutiques, Newman said. 

As also reported in February, Firenze partnered with Monument Bank, the UK’s first challenger bank dedicated to the mass-affluent segment. 

The rollout of the Firenze business comes against an uncertain macroeconomic background – rising tax rates, and some easing in interest rates, which creates a trade-off in terms of what to do when one wants liquidity. Interest rates are on their way down, CGT is on the way up which makes the cost-benefit of borrowing against portfolios change.

When asked about the announced work with Monument, Newman said it gave Firenze firepower in terms of lending capital to then engage with the wealth management area more generally.

Firenze adopts a “very conservative” loan-to-value policy, capping LTVs at 50 per cent. 

Asked about its business direction, Newman added that Firenze is and remains a purely business-to-business model.