Lloyds Banking Group has pulled the plug on its five-year agreement with Satago, a provider of invoice finance and cash flow solutions, after just two years.
While “pleased to be part of Satago’s journey”, the bank has given notice to terminate its commercial agreement with the platform, which began in 2022. Ben Stephenson, Lloyds’ representative on the board of Satago, has also stepped down.
The agreement had “built on an existing partnership”, with Lloyds also investing £5millon in the UK fintech in exchange for a 20 per cent equity stake to demonstrate “its ongoing commitment to reinventing existing invoice financing practices and delivering the best possible outcomes for its SME customers”.
Announcing the partnership in March 2022, Sinead McHale, CEO of Satago, also described Lloyds’ investment as “testament to the ability of our intelligent technology, and our innovative use of data, to put SMEs across the UK back in control of their own finances and bounce back stronger”.
The board of TruFin, Satago’s parent company, insists that Lloyds’ decision to “no longer prioritise the Satago platform and exercise its right to terminate the contract” does not reflect the quality or robustness of the Satago platform.
In a statement, TruFin said: “It [the board] continues to believe in Satago’s ability to generate significant value through its lending as a service embedded finance strategy, underscored by its ongoing successful partnerships with Sage and the Bank of Ireland, and its continued progression of a significant pipeline of other Tier-1 banks and specialist lenders.”
Commenting on the decision, a Lloyds Banking Group spokesperson, said: “We have been pleased to be part of Satago’s journey. Our partnership has been an important step in the development of new finance solutions for UK businesses. We wish everyone involved all the very best for the future.”
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