Luxembourg-based Reech invests €3m in Irish finance platform

Luxembourg-based Reech Corporations Group has become the largest external shareholder in Irish finance platform Grid Finance, as the company seeks to expand internationally.

Odysseus Investments, Reech's financial services and technology venture capital arm, has made a €3 million equity investment in the Dublin-based SME financing and wealth platform.

"This is a very scalable business with potential to move beyond Ireland into other markets," said Christophe Reech, founder and principal of Reech Corporations Group.

Reech, a former derivatives banker, who will join the Grid Finance board as non-executive director.

Grid Finance, which provides an online platform to lend to both businesses and individuals, plans to grow the business to more than €1 billion in lending to 25,000 businesses in the coming years, having to date provided financing to 2,000 small businesses.

It offers businesses flexible financing including invoice discounting, leasing and short-term cash flow loans secured against credit and debit card receivables.

Grid's other backers include Enterprise Ireland, Kilcullen Kapital Partners, Kirkcaldy Group, Thiele Capital and Unbent Capital.

Odysseus is hoping to invest in a number of fintech start-ups to build up an investment portfolio.

It has also invested in UK-based wealth management firm Moola, which uses advanced robotic technology to provide a low-cost and user-friendly way for savers to access high-performing investment products.

 (Hannah Brenton, hannah.brenton@wort.lu, +352 49 93 728)