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Verteva raises $33m to shake up mortgage industry
Herbert Smith Freehills has advised Verteva on its $33 million capital raise.
Tony Zhang
Firms: Herbert Smith Freehills (Verteva)
Verteva will use the investment to develop a digital banking platform, leveraging smart data and open banking, and build a portfolio of high-quality financial assets.
Value: $33 million.
Area: Venture capital.
Key players: The Herbert Smith Freehills team was led by partner and Australian head of venture capital Peter Dunne, consultant Elizabeth Henderson, and solicitor Myra Beal.
Deal significance: By securing $33 million in its Series A funding, Verteva gears up to launch its digitised home loan solution and disrupt the “laggard” financial services industry.
“Closing a capital raising in the current environment is testimony to the compelling business proposition that Verteva’s founders have developed,” Ms Henderson said.
“This deal demonstrates that, even in an uncertain environment, quality and smart innovation will always attract investment and that Australia is still open for business.”
Headed up by former Westpac execs Mr Walker and Mr Lumby, Verteva is a digital home loan provider, focused on the lower-risk end of the market.
Still in the pre-revenue and product-build stage, the start-up won’t have branches or use mortgage brokers. Rather, it will use pre-existing data to get the process done quickly.
Verteva’s co-founder and CEO, Mr Walker, said: “Navigating a capital raising in this environment was not without its challenges. Having Herbert Smith Freehills in our corner was more than helpful and frankly critical to delivering a successful outcome for Verteva.”
Recently Herbert Smith Freehills’ venture capital team had advised Different Technologies Pty Ltd (:Different) on its $7.1 million Series A capital raise.
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