13 October 2014

GLI Finance Limited announces partnership with UK Bond Network

GLI Finance Limited ("GLI Finance"), a leading investor in the alternative finance sector, announces that it has agreed to invest £1 million in UK Bond Network, the UK's first peer to peer bond platform, in return for a 16.6% equity stake in the business.

UK Bond Network gives listed and unlisted businesses the opportunity to create a bespoke financing structure with terms that suit them, in the form of loans or bonds from £500,000 to £4 million. The platform bridges the gap in the market between the small alternative finance providers (private debt funds) and the retail bond market, which is typically not a viable option for businesses seeking less than £20 million.

Geoff Miller, Chief Executive of GLI Finance, said: "UK Bond Network has achieved impressive growth and is an excellent strategic fit within our portfolio of platforms that provide finance to growing businesses.  I am sure that, given UK Bond Network's talented management team and the demand for the flexible finance that it provides businesses, it will be a great partner for GLI Finance."

Chris Maule, Chief Executive and Founder of UK Bond Network, said: "We are delighted to be welcoming GLI Finance as a significant investor and partner in our business as we reach a stage in our development when we are looking to accelerate our growth. This represents an important strategic step for UK Bond Network and we believe that the experience and expertise of the GLI Finance management team will provide significant value to our business. Our offering is complimentary to GLI Finance's existing portfolio of companies, and as such we expect there to be excellent synergies between the platforms."

-Ends-

Notes to editors

GLI Finance Limited

GLI Finance (www.glifinance.com) is a specialist provider of finance to small and medium sized enterprises and is quoted on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (ticker GLIF). GLI Finance both invests in loans to SMEs and originates finance for SMEs through a variety of finance platforms.

The platforms in which GLI Finance is invested vary by geography, industry, size of lending and by type of lending. They include Global trade Finance, UK and US SME Lending, Offshore Lending, UK invoice discounting, European invoice discounting, Global multi-asset crowd funding and UK property-backed lending.

UK Bond Network

UK Bond Network (www.ukbondnetwork.com) is a Peer-to-Peer Bond Platform which uses its syndicate of experienced investors to provide fast, flexible finance to businesses seeking debt funding. Its unique approach of structuring finance, combined with the company's network of exclusively experienced investors, allows each bond to be specifically tailored to the issuing company.

Borrowers - UK Bond Network gives businesses the opportunity to create a bespoke finance structure on terms that suit them, before offering it directly to a pool of experienced investors via 7-14 day auction. Funding is provided to publicly quoted as well as private companies and the amount ranges from £0.5 to £4m over terms of 1 to 3 years.

Investors - Investors can participate from a minimum of £5,000 upwards per auction, have access to detailed suite of offer documents for each issue and pay no fees for use of the platform. Investors are able to select the bonds they want to invest in, and often benefit from the possibility of enhanced returns linked to the performance of the borrowing company.

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