APS financial to tap bond investors for £5 million

The alternative finance provider behind Cashplus has drawn up plans to tap investors for £5 million.

APS financial will this month issue a mini-bond paying a 7% coupon for customers and other investors.

The digital current accounts provider, which has a tie-up with the Post Office, has been operating without a banking licence for more than a decade, meaning it can only lend money it has in its own account.

The funds raised will expand the group’s SME lending capacity.

The offer is an attractive one for savers with interest rates at an all-time low.

Chief executive Rich Wagner said there had been “huge interest” in the bond from existing customers and described it as a “more structured way of doing peer-to-peer lending”.

The company made £25.3 million in revenues in the year ended March, a rise of 23%, while underlying earnings leapt 36% to £4.1 million.