Betting syndicate helps broker group raise $6m

David Hyman, managing director of Australian Credit and Finance, said the company’s investors have been great supporters of its growth and provide strategic advice.

“We went out to a whole network of high-net-worth individuals, as well as family offices and funds, and talked about the business that we’ve built and our views on the future of the industry,” he told The Adviser.

“That really resonated with a lot of investors, and they really supported what we had built and what we were planning on doing in the future.”

Mr Hyman said the decision to raise the $6 million was driven by the company board's desire for rapid growth.

“We’ve all been involved in a number of high-grade businesses in the past, so for us it’s about identifying when you’ve got your business or a particular process of it to a stage where it’s scalable. You’ve identified the risks and opportunities,” he said

“Our view is that, in order to be competitive in the space, we needed to get to a critical mass, and we wanted to do that sooner rather than later.”

Mr Hyman said the firm has recently moved to a bigger office in Sydney’s CBD, and is expecting to double the number of staff to 180 by the middle of 2015.

“The number of consumers we’re interacting with is also growing to more than 100,000 a month,” he said.

“I’m particularly looking forward to launching a new suite of consumer products in 2015.”

In less than two years of operation, Australian Credit and Finance has submitted nearly $1 billion in loans to its panel lenders, and is expecting to originate in excess of $3 billion worth of loans by the end of 2015.

[Related: New mortgage franchise continues expanding]