U.K.-based online accounting system provider Free Agent has raised $5 million in new debt financing courtesy of SaaS Capital. The new funding will be used helping the company acquire new customers.
Todd Gardner, founder and managing director of SaaS Capital said, “Free Agent is exactly the type of company we were looking to assist when we announced our new fund last month … (They) simply needed more capital to seize the market opportunity in front of them.”
Free Agent CEO Ed Molyneux says SaaS Capital’s investment was a unique opportunity. “We have historically raised equity and also used some venture debt, but we found the SaaS Capital solution to be a great way to finance our growth compared to those other options.”
FreeAgent CEO Ed Molyneux presented at FinovateEurope 2013 in London.
The financing from SaaS Capital comes in the form of a “revenue-based line of credit.” According to FreeAgent, this funding strategy will give the company the ability to deploy capital for longer periods than other lenders, as well as more flexibility when it comes to funding its own longer-term goals. Note that Finovate alum, Lighter Capital, specializes in this kind of financing.
FreeAgent’s cloud-based accounting system is geared toward freelance workers and what the company calls “micro-businesses” for whom other solutions are often too expensive and/or too complex. The company’s platform offers a wide variety of features to help manage business operations from tracking expenses to sending invoicing, to tax planning and filing.
FreeAgent was most recently in the headlines for its partnership with small-business booking-platform Appointedd announced in February, and last December, FreeAgent was selected to be a part of Lloyds Banking Groups new Business Toolbox.
Founded in April 2007 and headquartered in Edinburg, United Kingdom, FreeAgent made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2013, where its online accounting system was demoed. The company has 50 employees and more than 27,000 paying customers. Ed Molyneux is CEO.