30 October 2019

Harmoney, a leading digital platform lender in Australasia, has successfully completed a Series C funding round which has raised AU$22.9 million (NZ$25 million) in capital from two new Australasia-based investors. The company, founded in New Zealand in 2014, has received its latest financial backing from Australian private equity firm Kirwood Capital and a private institutional investor based in New Zealand.

In addition, Harmoney is implementing an AU$20 million (NZ$21.9 million) corporate debt facility with an Australian investment fund to bring the raising to AU$42.9 million (NZ$47 million). The corporate debt facility will be used to expand Harmoney's customer base and debt warehousing programme.

Kirwood Capital is a strategic investor that backs management teams on accelerated growth journeys, with a focus on long-term alignment and sustainable growth. Kirwood is industry-agnostic but focuses on opportunities across financial services, healthcare, education and consumer.

The majority of the funds will be dedicated to the continued growth of Harmoney in the attractive Australian personal lending market and drive ongoing digital innovation. Harmoney is rapidly scaling and profitable with revenue CAGR of 103% since inception in 2014 and has developed a mix of funding channels, including warehouse funding.

Incoming CEO David Stevens says the success of the funding round is a vital vote of confidence for Harmoney’s business model and its vision for future growth. “This investment will allow us to scale up our operations in Australia while maintaining the healthy growth we’ve sustained in New Zealand and further diversifying our funding options.

“Harmoney has just marked its fifth year of operations this year, originating more than NZ$1.4 billion in new loans, predominantly out of New Zealand, a huge achievement for any business. To reach that landmark with this funding behind us is a validation of Australasian-based fintech and positions the company perfectly for exponential growth.

“Our new investment partners have taken an extremely thorough look at the business and where we are headed and liked what they have seen. That gives us a mandate to keep expanding on our market position as an innovator and a leading disruptor of traditional banking services.”

Following its investment, Kirwood Capital takes a newly established seat on the board of Harmoney. Luke Forster, CEO of Kirwood Capital, says, “Access to capital is critical for companies at Harmoney’s stage of growth, and Kirwood’s investment recognises Harmoney’s globally differentiated digital offering, and its attractiveness as a high growth and profitable platform. We are excited to partner with the team to accelerate Harmoney’s sustainable growth journey.”

For queries please contact:

Investors

David Stevens
CEO & Managing Director
investors@harmoney.co.nz

Media

Courtney Howe
+61 404 310 364
courtney@domestiqueconsulting.com.au

About Harmoney

Harmoney is an online direct personal lender that operates across New Zealand and Australia providing customers with unsecured personal loans that are easy to access, competitively priced (using risk-adjusted interest rates) and accessed 100% online.

Harmoney’s purpose is to help people achieve their goals through financial products that are fair, friendly, and simple to use.

Harmoney’s proprietary digital lending platform, Stellare™, facilitates its personalised loan product with applications processed and loans typically funded within 24 hours of acceptance by the customer. Stellare™ applies a customer’s individual circumstance to its data-driven, machine learning credit scorecard to deliver automated credit decisioning and accurate risk-based pricing.

Business fundamentals

• Harmoney provides unsecured personal loans of up to $70,000 for three, five or seven year periods to customers across New Zealand and Australia
• Its direct-to-consumer and automated loan approval system is underpinned by Harmoney’s scalable Stellare™ proprietary technology platform
• A significant percentage of Harmoney’s originations are “3R” (repeat) customers, with losses on repeat loans approximately 40% lower than first time loans
• Harmoney is comprised of a team of 69 full-time employees across Australia and New Zealand, over half of whom comprise engineering, data science and product professionals
• Harmoney is funded by a number of sources including two “Big-4” bank warehouse programs across Australia and New Zealand and a facility from M&G Investments