Victory Park Capital Increases its Investment in Upstart Consumer Loans to $500 Million
Press Release
Apr 06, 2015
Expanded partnership furthers Upstart’s ability to provide fairly priced loans to the underserved
CHICAGO – April 6, 2015 – Victory Park Capital (VPC), an asset management firm focused on middle market debt and equity investments, announced today that it will increase its investment in Upstart loans from $100 million to $500 million. Based in Palo Alto, Calif. Upstart is a lending platform that goes beyond the FICO score to finance people based on signals of their potential, including employment history and academic performance.
“We were impressed with the Upstart team’s execution in 2014, and their results give us confidence that this emerging platform is serving a critical market need,” said Tom Welch, principal at VPC. “Upstart’s ability to identify prime borrowers years before other lenders is fundamentally disruptive, and the team has shown that they know how to execute on the opportunity.”
Upstart is committed to providing fairly priced loans to quality borrowers who aren’t well-served by traditional lenders. In the 11 months since inception, more than 5,000 loans totaling $70 million have originated on Upstart, including more than $14 million in March alone.
Dave Girouard, founder and CEO of Upstart, added, “We’re thrilled to expand our partnership with a firm that brings us not just capital but a wealth of knowledge and experience. We’re on a mission to bring financial fitness to all, and teaming with VPC gives us confidence that we’ll have the impact on the world that we want.”
About Victory Park Capital
Victory Park Capital Advisors, LLC (“VPC”) is a privately held, SEC-registered, global alternative investment firm. VPC provides opportunistic capital solutions to both emerging and established businesses with an expertise investing across various sectors where traditional sources of capital are limited. The firm’s differentiated offerings leverage an extensive network of industry relationships, disciplined deal origination, creative financing capabilities and broad credit structuring and special situations expertise. The firm was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Chicago with additional offices in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. For more information, please visit www.victoryparkcapital.com.
About Upstart
Founded by ex-Googlers, Upstart goes beyond the FICO score to finance people based on signals of their potential, including schools attended, area of study, academic performance, and work history. Upstart’s proprietary underwriting model identifies high quality borrowers despite limited credit and employment experience. Upstart loans can be used for almost anything, including starting a business, paying for a coding bootcamp, eliminating student debt or paying off credit cards. For more information, visit: https://www.upstart.com/.