M:Qube secures £5 million Series A investment led by AV8 Ventures, IQ Capital and Jamjar

M:QUBE launches to transform the £270bn UK mortgage market 

The fintech company secures £5 million from AV8 Ventures, IQ Capital and JamJar to support launch. 

London, 7th November 2019: M:QUBE – the new fintech mortgage lender using data and technology to deliver mortgages in minutes – has launched. It has secured £5m in seed funding to support its mission of transforming the UK mortgage market. In what was an oversubscribed round, M:QUBE is now backed by some of Europe’s leading VC’s including AV8 ventures (lead investor), IQ Capital and JamJar Investments. 

In addition to the £5m in operating capital recently secured, M:QUBE will partner with a select number of high profile financial institutions, who will supply the debt capital used to issue mortgages. The business will work exclusively through mortgage brokers, using it’s partnerships with lenders, investment banks and asset managers to offer a broad range of highly competitive products. 

M:QUBE has digitised and automated the entire process of applying for a mortgage, using data, deep learning and sophisticated technology. Documents supplied by a mortgage broker via the platform can be used to instantly retrieve thousands of data points relevant to an application. Typically M:QUBE use 5-7 times more data than traditional lenders to analyse cases, supporting a robust, data rich underwriting decision in minutes, for both simple and complex cases. 

By effectively analysing large data sets, M:QUBE is able to provide applicants with tailored products, designed to cater for their specific needs. Where currently many cases are denied because lenders lack the operational capacity to review each borrower in detail, M:QUBE’s platform has re-engineered the application process to support truly personalised lending decisions. 

M:QUBE’s technology also allows brokers to verify the accuracy of customer data before applications are submitted. This prevents many of the delays in the application process (currently averaging 15-20 working days) which often lead to property deals falling through. 

As all M:QUBE offers are legally binding (as opposed to the commonly issued decision in principle), the borrower is empowered with significantly greater control during the purchase process. This not only increases the likelihood of deals being completed but enables borrowers to negotiate price discounts on the property in the same way a cash buyer would (typically leading to a 4-5% reduction in purchase price). 

Founded in 2017 by seasoned financial services executives Stuart Cheetham (Lloyds, Prudential) and Richard Fitch (Halifax, Credit Agricole), M:QUBE mortgages will be available exclusively through intermediaries (mortgage brokers), enhancing its distribution capability whilst ensuring customer outcomes are best served during what is typically their largest and most emotive financial decision. 

For mortgage intermediaries, M:QUBE enhance certainty of outcome, providing decisions in almost real-time and requiring only a fraction of the administrative tasks typically involved (M:QUBE supports paperless applications). 

As well as supporting excellent customer rates, M:QUBE’s unique, low cost operating model enhances returns for buy-side investors, enabling them to deploy capital into the market faster, with a simultaneous reduction in asset risk driven by the robustness of the data-led underwriting process. 

Stuart Cheetham, M:QUBE co-founder and CEO said

“The UK mortgage market is one of the very few sectors in which consumers are yet to seriously benefit from advances in technology. We have built a technology platform that will lead to better outcomes across the eco-system, in particular for borrowers and mortgage intermediaries. M:QUBE has the power to transform this largely un-innovated market for the benefit of all key stakeholders and improve returns for banks, building societies and institutional investors in the process. 

Our mission is to help more people get the mortgage that best meets their needs, whether they intend to buy a home or are landlords investing in their family’s future. The current solutions are antiquated and simply do not offer the flexibility that consumers have become accustomed to in almost every other business sector. For example, in the UK there are huge swathes of the population which can afford their rent but are unable to get a loan to buy a property. This is just one example of the problems that we aim to solve.” 

Miles Kirby, Managing Director, AV8 Ventures said:

We are delighted to be supporting M:QUBE. It is an outstanding company and will be able to help many people that are currently struggling to finance the purchase of a property. The technology that M:QUBE has built is truly unique and will transform the mortgage market and the way mortgages are done, pushing the industry into the 21st century. We look forward to continuing to support M:QUBE as they launch into the mortgage lending marketplace.” 

Max Bautin, Managing Partner, IQ Capital said:

The mortgage industry is one of the few industries that has remained largely untouched by innovation and none of the recent entrants to the market in the UK have introduced disruptive products or successfully scaled to a noticeable size. M:QUBE is applying very specific deep technologies to a commercial problem, and is successfully bringing both together. We believe it has the potential for global scale.” 

Working alongside the company’s co-founders is a senior management team with over 100- years of financial services experience, including executives from Visa, Experian, Gain Capital and a co-founder of Starling Bank. 

M:QUBE were solely advised by IMAS Corporate Finance during the fundraise. 

Notes to Editors 

About M:QUBE

M:QUBE is the fintech mortgage lender using data and technology to deliver a legally binding mortgage decision in minutes instead of weeks. 

With MQUBE, the mortgage application process is simpler, more efficient and leads to better outcomes for borrowers and intermediaries. By digitising and automating the entire consumer experience, applicants can receive a legally binding decision in minutes vs. the industry standard of 15-20 days. For more information, please visit: www.mqube.com 

About IQ Capital

IQ Capital is a venture capital firm, based between Cambridge and London, that invests in ‘deep-tech’ across sectors including machine learning, AI, robotics, and advanced engineering and materials, and data-focused propositions based on disruptive algorithms. All of the firm’s portfolio companies are capable of dominating their respective markets on a global scale. Initial investments range from £300k to £5m, with capacity for follow-on investment up to £30m. 

The IQ Capital team has achieved over 20 exits to date, to companies including Oracle, Google, Apple, Huawei, and Facebook as well as several IPOs. IQ Capital has led 28 investments over the last three years. The firm is currently investing at seed and Series A stage from its third venture fund. For more information, please visit: www.iqcapital.vc 

About AV8 Ventures

Jointly headquartered in London and Palo Alto, AV8 Ventures is a global early-stage VC firm, led by former entrepreneurs and with Allianz as the fund’s LP, that invests at seed stage and Series A into startups developing innovative new technologies and business models utilizing deep technology. AV8 invests up to £5 million per round into startups across focus areas including mobility, digital health, AI and big data, and enterprise software – sectors that are booming as a result of advances in the power of computer processing, machine learning, and new data sources. AV8 invests across the US, Europe and Israel. Notable investments include Alpha Medical, Hometree, PlanetIQ, Contract Wrangler, Rephrase.ai, Uizard, Swift Shift and Locomotion. For more information, please visit: www.av8.vc 

About JamJar

JamJar Investments is the innocent drinks founders’ venture capital fund. It invests in high growth consumer brands and its portfolio includes Deliveroo, Tails.com, Bulb Energy, Babylon Health and Papier. 

Contacts Ant Avrili – Fieldhouse Associates [email protected] 07890 052 272 

Manoj Ranaweera

Manoj has founded, failed and successfully exited from a number of technology product companies as well as support organisations since 2004. Among them, Northern Tech Awards and edocr.com were acquired by GP Bullhound and Accusoft, Inc respectively. Today, Manoj is building a trusted support network for technology companies. He is working with founding teams to help them accelerate including raising investment and M&A.

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