The Board and management of Prospa Group Limited are pleased to announce the company has been admitted to the official list of the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) following the successful completion of the IPO.
Prospa, Australia’s #1 online lender to small business[1] will trade under the ticker code PGL on a conditional and deferred settlement basis from today, and on a normal settlement basis from 17 June, 2019.
Under the IPO the company sold 29 million shares at $3.78 per share to raise $109.6 million. Following IPO settlement the company will have 161.4 million shares on issue worth $609.9 million at the IPO price.
The majority of funds raised (above the amount raised to fund cash payments to certain existing shareholders) will be focused on funding the equity portion of the company’s growing loan book and working capital, investment in new products and geographies and to repay corporate debt.
Prospa today welcomes a range of high quality, long term investors to the share register including current shareholder AustralianSuper, Australia’s largest superannuation fund. Existing long-term investors, London-based venture capital investor Entrée Capital, and Australian based venture capital investors AirTree Ventures and SquarePeg Capital, did not sell any equity in the IPO.
Entrée Capital, Greg Moshal and Beau Bertoli will be subject to escrow until after the Company’s financial results for the year ended on 30 June 2020 have been released to the ASX. All other Escrowed Shareholders, including Square Peg Capital and AirTree Ventures, will be subject to escrow until after the reviewed financial accounts of the Company for the half year ended on 31 December 2019 have been released to the ASX.
About Prospa
At Prospa, the employees, management and investors are extremely proud of the role the company plays in supporting the growth of Australian small businesses, which combined are a major contributor to the national economy.
The 2.3 million[ii] small businesses in Australia employ 44 per cent of Australia’s private sector workforce[iii] and generate 35 per cent of Australia’s GDP[iv]. These small businesses have been underserved by the traditional banking system, and are increasingly turning to online, unsecured lending to support their growth.
In January 2019, research by RFi Group and the Centre for International Economics into the economic impact of Prospa lending to small business in Australia, indicated that Prospa’s lending had contributed an estimated $4 billion to Australian GDP and resulted in more than 57,000 annual full-time equivalent positions being maintained.[v]
Prospa is committed to putting its small business customers first. Over the past 12 months, Prospa has developed and expanded its product suite, been instrumental in the development of a new, more transparent AFIA Code of Lending Practice and optimised its funding structures – delivering a significantly lower wholesale cost of funds which has been passed on to customers in the form of lower interest rates.
Prospa’s success has been the result of a group of smart, talented and passionate people united around a common mission to keep small businesses moving. As a public company, Prospa will continue to find new ways to support the success of small businesses and exceed customer expectations, building a company that creates value over decades, not just years.
For further information, please contact [email protected].
1 Online lender to small business – Prospa volume as a % of total Australian market volume (measured by loan value) for 2017 (sourced from The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance “3rd Asia Pacific Region Alternative Finance Industry Report”, November 2018, p86).
ii Small businesses defined as having fewer than 20 employees, including non-employing businesses; ABS 8165 (Counts of Australian Businesses including Entries and Exits), Jun 2013 – Jun 2018 (released in February 2019).
iii Small businesses defined as having fewer than 20 employees; small businesses provided employment for approximately 4.8 million people in 2017 which was 44% of the workforce excluding the financial, insurance and public services (as defined in the dataset; ABS 8155 (Australian Industry), 2016-17 (released in May 2018)).
iv GDP excluding financial, insurance and public sectors (as defined in the dataset, ABS 8155 (Australian Industry), 2016-17 (released in May 2018)).
v The Economic Impact of Prospa Lending to Small Business, RFi Group and The Centre for International Economics, January 2019. Represents the estimated nominal GDP increase and the estimated total full-time equivalent employee impact of Prospa lending over the period 1 January 2013 to 31 March 2019, calculated using Prospa lending over the period 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2018. Refer to Section 3.1.4 of the Prospa prospectus dated 16 May 2019.
