Finstock Capital is a venture debt lending firm that is based in London, U.K. They offer non-dilutive growth capital to early-stage tech companies across many sectors. Founded in 2017, the company prioritizes investment and funding in U.K. based companies.
About Finstock Capital
Finstock Capital specializes in early-stage venture debt financing across multiple verticals. Depending on the industry, they have a few different approaches to lending.
The firm offers venture debt project financing for game developers and gaming companies to get their games off the ground. They offer accelerated R&D tax credit financing for tech businesses, allowing companies to bring products to market faster. For many other early-stage companies, they offer bespoke venture debt financing solutions.
Typically, Finstock Capital lends between £100K and £5MM across all sectors, so they can work with companies at various stages of development. Nearly all of these loans are short or medium-term loans (≤ 2-year term).
Currently, the firm works with 27 different businesses, including Blu Wireless, a silicon IP company that is developing the next generation of 5G and mmWave technology (Source - July 2022). Another notable recent investment is Gunpowder Plot: Immersive Experience, which is the gaming product of a mixed reality and VFX studio.
Eligibility and Products Offered
To qualify for venture debt lending from Finstock Capital, companies can be at any stage in its corporate development. Recently, the company provided venture debt support to Smart Pension to lead the company into its $165MM Series D funding round (Source - August 2022).
Typically, the firm focuses on smaller companies and places most of its focus on helping newer companies begin to grow. Finstock has been highly focused on the gaming industry recently (Source - August 2022).
In terms of lending, Finstock Capital offers a few solutions:
- R&D tax credit lending for innovative tech companies
- Theatre loans to fund on-stage productions
- Video games tax relief (VGTR) loans
- Bridging loans
- Acquisition finance
- Share buyback
- Bespoke short and medium-term loans for businesses that need financial runway
In addition to venture debt, Finstock Capital also offers private equity and mezzanine financing.
How to Apply
To apply for funding with Finstock, founders should reach out via the “contact” option on their venture debt website. If there is a fit, a member of the Finstock team will reach out regarding next steps (Source - August 2022).
Capchase vs. Finstock
In addition to financing using venture debt from Finstock Capital, founders and startups can work with Capchase. When compared to Finstock Capital, Capchase’s funding model is designed to remove excess fees that can save clients up to 50% when compared to traditional venture debt providers (Source – June 2022).
It can be helpful to see the differences between Capchase and Finstock Capital side-by-side. This is especially true for key areas like speed to funding, flexibility, structure & fees, and value add.
Speed
Capchase
24 hours to underwrite (led by a tech-driven & highly responsive underwriting system)
Finstock Capital
Fairly flexible: No minimum net worth, working capital, current ratio, quick asset ratio, liquidity ratio, or debt-to-equity ratio is required to apply
Flexibility
Capchase
Highly Flexible: No traditional financial covenants on amounts financed
Finstock Capital
May include terms around prepayment, expensive closing process, warrants, admin fees
Structure & Fees
Capchase
Transparent & Simple: No prepayment fees, closing fees, warrants, or hidden fees
Finstock Capital
May include terms around prepayment, expensive closing process, warrants, admin fees
Value Add
Capchase
A prescriptive funding plan
Finstock Capital
Discrete funding events
