You’re joining manda, iwoca’s M&A platform, at a pivotal moment. After early success working with existing iwoca customers, we’re now turning to the open market to help more business owners exit.

That’s why we’re looking for a Growth Associate to join the team. This is a 6-month fixed-term role for someone smart, hungry and entrepreneurial. With the right traction the role will convert into a permanent role at the forefront of manda’s growth efforts.

The company

Selling a small business is hard. Only one in five UK SME owners has a formal exit plan, yet half are counting on their business to fund their retirement. Below £10m in enterprise value, most M&A advisers can't make the economics work, so a generation of owner-managers is getting ready to step back with no realistic route to a sale.

manda exists to fix that. We match owners with serious buyers, from search funds to private equity, and handle the whole process in one place, including financial due diligence and acquisition finance. Our first sale is done, and we're now opening manda up beyond iwoca's own customers.

manda is part of iwoca, one of Europe's leading fintech lenders, which has provided more than £4 billion in funding to over 150,000 businesses since 2012. That gives us what a traditional adviser doesn't have: a deep footprint in the SME economy, a lender's data and infrastructure, and deals run on clean, automated processes rather than spreadsheets.

The team

You'll report to manda's Venture Lead and work day to day with our Transaction Managers, the dealmakers who run each sale, and our Partnerships Manager, who builds our referral network with accountants, solicitors and wealth managers. You'll also work with iwoca's marketing & sales team and have access to their tools and know-how.

The role

Your mission is to grow the number of businesses manda takes to market, by finding owners who are serious about selling and bringing them into a first meeting with one of our Transaction Managers.

With an ethos of smarter, not louder, you’ll build on iwoca’s existing models to work out which owners are getting ready to sell and which businesses will attract a buyer, then reach them personally by email, LinkedIn and phone. We'd rather approach the right few hundred owners well than the wrong ten thousand badly.

Decide who we contact. Own the target lists and the logic behind them, and keep sharpening them on what actually predicts a seller and a strong business.
Convert interest. Write and send the outreach yourself, follow up with owners who respond, and book them in with a Transaction Manager.
Find what works. Run several experiments at once, back what produces meetings and drop what doesn't. Letters, events and ideas of your own can all earn a place.
Make manda credible. Owners look us up before they reply. Help make sure what they find, from our website to LinkedIn, gives them a reason to get in touch.

Who you are

You don't need to be a marketer or have years of experience. You need to be smart, resourceful and quick to learn from what isn't working, and to want ownership of something real.

You're entrepreneurial. You've started, sold or built something, even if it was small, and you don't wait for a plan before getting going.
You write well. Your messages are short, clear and human, the kind a busy owner actually answers, and you're just as at ease on the phone with someone who has spent thirty years building their business.
You follow through. A reply that never becomes a meeting is a lead lost.
You're honest about results. You'd rather report a bad week than dress it up.
You're AI-savvy. You use AI to research, personalise and write at a scale one person couldn't otherwise reach, and you automate whatever you find yourself doing twice.

The requirements

Essential:

Some experience in outreach, sales or growth, whether in an SDR or BDR role, marketing, a startup or a project of your own. Evidence of initiative matters more than a polished CV.
Numerate and analytical. Working out who to contact is as much of this job as contacting them.
Comfortable with rejection. Most owners won't reply, and plenty who do won't be ready yet.
A genuine interest in SMEs, M&A or how businesses change hands.
Based in London and available full-time.

Bonus:

Hands-on with outbound tools such as HubSpot or LinkedIn Sales Navigator.
You've worked to a meetings or pipeline target, and hit it.
Experience building a targeting or lead-scoring model.

The salary & contract

This is initially a 6-month fixed-term contract, with a salary of £30,000–£40,000 per annum (pro rata), depending on experience.

While we're starting with a fixed-term contract, our intention is for this to develop into a permanent position. At the end of the six months, we'll review how things have gone, with the opportunity to make the role permanent, expand its responsibilities and revisit the salary to reflect the longer-term scope.

Please include your salary expectations with your application.

The culture

At iwoca, we prioritise a culture of learning, growth, and support, and invest in the development of our team members. We value thought and skill diversity, and encourage people to explore new areas of interest, adopt better tools – including AI – and apply sound judgement so our products and decisions improve over time.

The offices

We put a lot of effort into making iwoca a great place to work:

Offices in London, Leeds, Berlin, and Frankfurt with plenty of drinks and snacks.
Events and community-led groups, including running groups, padel, and monthly ping-pong and pool competitions.

The benefits

Flexible working hours.
Medical insurance from Vitality, including discounted gym membership.
A choice between a dedicated dental plan or a health cash plan that reimburses everyday medical expenses.
A private GP service (separate from Vitality) for you, your partner, and your dependents.
25 days’ holiday per year, an extra day off for your birthday, the option to buy or sell an additional five days of annual leave, and unlimited unpaid leave.
A one-month, fully paid sabbatical after four years.
Instant access to external counselling and therapy sessions for team members that need emotional or mental health support.
3% Pension contributions on total earnings.
An employee equity incentive scheme.
Generous parental leave and a nursery tax benefit scheme to help you save money.
Electric car scheme and cycle to work scheme.
Two company retreats a year: we’ve been to France, Italy, Spain, and further afield.

And to make sure we all keep learning, we offer:

A learning and development budget for everyone.
Company-wide talks with internal and external speakers.
Access to learning platforms like Treehouse.

Useful links:

About the company

Iwoca provides financing for small and medium-sized UK businesses, offering flexible loans and invoice financing to help with cash flow and growth. Its products include the Flexi Loan, which lets a business borrow with adjustable repayment terms, and iwocaPay, an invoice-financing service that lets customers pay invoices over time. The company runs its lending through a tech-driven platform that analyzes data and uses machine learning to assess credit risk and make quick decisions, often within 24 hours. This speed and flexibility set it apart from traditional lenders, as it focuses on tailoring financing to each SME’s needs rather than offering one-size-fits-all products. Overall, its goal is to enable smaller businesses to manage cash flow, access capital quickly, and support business growth.

Company Size

501-1,000

Company Stage

Debt Financing

Total Funding

$2.2B

Headquarters

London, United Kingdom

Founded

2011

Get referred to iwoca

See people who can refer or advise you

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

Starling launched iwoca loans on September 4, 2026, expanding high-intent distribution instantly.
Iwoca's July 2026 £250 million facility funded a 60% lending surge and larger tickets.
Credit Compass and the May 2026 business card broaden monetization beyond core term loans.

What critics are saying

Qatalyst's 2026 sale process distracts management and can collapse before closing.
Waterfall debt funds growth; rising defaults could tighten financing if SME credit losses spike.
High Court lending disputes and collection actions threaten brand trust and future regulator scrutiny.

What makes iwoca unique

Iwoca embeds SME lending inside Starling and Tide, distributing directly where businesses bank.
Its underwriting uses open-banking data and automated decisions, shrinking approval time to minutes.
Iwoca spans loans, invoice finance, credit cards, and credit tools across one SME platform.

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Benefits

Flexible Working Hours
Health Insurance
Paid Vacation
Paid Holidays
Sabbatical Leave
Family Planning Benefits
Fertility Treatment Support
Parental Leave
Nursery Tax Benefit Scheme
Cycle-to-work Scheme
Electric Car Scheme
Wellness Program

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

1 year growth

2 year growth

Royal Crescent Publishing Limited

Oct 19th, 2026

Iwoca secures $209M credit line from ABN Amro and Neuberger to fuel German SME lending

Digital lender iwoca has added a €185m (£156m) credit line to fund its German business. ABN Amro is the senior lender, and investment manager Neuberger provides the mezzanine tranche. The facility lifts iwoca's total commitment in Germany to more than €560m. The company says it needs the funds to meet rising demand for small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) loans. Fabian Platzen, general manager of iwoca Germany, said the firm more than doubled its German loan book over the past 12 months. It now has nearly 13,000 active loan customers there. By 2028, iwoca plans to grow its German loan book to €1bn and serve 30,000 to 35,000 active SME customers. Founded in 2012, iwoca operates in the UK and Germany and has disbursed around €7bn to SMEs.

FF News

Oct 15th, 2026

iwoca Launches manda M&A marketplace to close growing SME succession gap.

iwoca Launches manda M&A marketplace to close growing SME succession gap. iwoca has launched manda, a dedicated M&A platform designed to address a growing succession crisis among the UK's 5.7 million small businesses. By acting as a market maker rather than a traditional broker, the platform leverages deep financial data to match SME owners with institutional buyers, offering a streamlined exit route for founders nearing retirement. What was announced. manda is a full-service platform that handles the entire M&A lifecycle in one place. Unlike traditional corporate finance brokers who typically represent only one side of a transaction, manda functions as a market maker. It connects SME owners with a pool of serious buyers, including search funds, private equity firms, and family offices. The platform utilizes iwoca's existing data on more than 100,000 SMEs to identify opportunities. For due diligence and deal structuring, manda integrates bank feeds, filed accounts, VAT returns, and payroll data. This data-driven approach is intended to make the process more accessible and affordable, as the platform only charges a fee upon the successful completion of a deal. The launch follows the successful sale of roofing contractor TRC (Midlands) Ltd to TrueNorth Capital Group, a transaction where manda managed everything from initial seller sourcing to financial due diligence and completion. The timing of the launch is critical; iwoca's research indicates that only 21% of UK SME owners have a formal, documented succession plan. Among those aged 55-64, nearly three-quarters have no more than a rough idea of their exit strategy, despite 50% of owners relying on a business sale to fund their retirement. Furthermore, 37% of owners have altered their plans following the April 2026 Inheritance Tax changes, with 15% now more likely to sell and 8% more likely to close down entirely. "Our analysis shows the majority of small business owners have no formal succession plan for the business they've built. Often the hardest part isn't finding a buyer, but finding the right one at the right time - someone who understands the business and will take it forward. manda solves that by matching sellers with buyers who actually fit what they're looking for. For businesses across the country, this platform is going to transform how deals are done, and how companies think about succession planning." The companies involved. iwoca is a prominent player in the European fintech space, primarily known as a specialist lender to small and medium-sized enterprises. Since its inception, the company has positioned itself as a technology-led alternative to traditional high-street banks, focusing on speed and data-driven credit decisions. It has built a significant footprint in the UK market, having supported over 100,000 SMEs through its lending products and embedded finance solutions. The company's move into the M&A space via manda represents a diversification of its core business model, moving from providing working capital to facilitating full-scale corporate transitions and exits. TrueNorth Capital Group, the buyer in manda's inaugural transaction, is an investment firm focused on acquiring businesses with established heritages and longstanding customer relationships. In the case of TRC (Midlands) Ltd, TrueNorth aims to provide the infrastructure and investment necessary for the next stage of growth within the roofing and external envelope market. TRC (Midlands) Ltd itself is a long-established roofing contractor that exemplifies the type of "legacy" SME that manda is designed to serve - businesses built over years that require a structured exit for their founders, such as Managing Director Trevor Horne, to ensure the company continues to operate under new ownership. What FF News has reported before. FF News has tracked iwoca's rapid growth and its expanding influence in the SME ecosystem. Recently, the lender reported that iwoca Revenue Surges 56% to £366M as SME Lender Launches New Business Credit Card, signaling a period of significant financial momentum. The company has also been active in the embedded finance space, as seen when DNA Payments Partners with iwoca to Offer UK SMEs up to £1M Embedded Funding. Furthermore, iwoca's role as a key partner for major financial institutions was highlighted when Starling Bank Partners with iwoca to Offer Business Loans Up to £1M. These developments underscore iwoca's transition from a pure-play lender to a multi-product financial platform for the UK's small business sector. What this means. The launch of manda is a direct challenge to the traditional, often fragmented corporate finance brokerage model. By automating the due diligence process through bank feeds and VAT data, iwoca is attempting to commoditize a service that has historically been high-friction and expensive for smaller firms. This move puts significant pressure on boutique M&A advisors who lack the data infrastructure to compete on speed or cost. The "succession crisis" highlighted by iwoca's data suggests a massive untapped market of "silver economy" entrepreneurs who are asset-rich but exit-poor. Whether a fintech platform can successfully navigate the highly emotional and nuanced negotiations of a business sale remains the open question for the sector. Featured speakers.

iwoca

Sep 28th, 2026

Revenue increases by over 50% as iwoca launches new products to solve more SME problems.

Revenue increases by over 50% as iwoca launches new products to solve more SME problems. September 28, 2026 * Latest accounts show iwoca's revenue grew by 56% to £366 million in 2025 * Re-investing growth: iwoca launches a to help SMEs with day-to-day expenses. The credit card follows the launch of iwocaPay and Credit Compass * A new high-profile integration with Starling is now live, and more SME solutions in insurance and M&A to be announced soon * The company provided £1.5 billion in loans to SMEs in 2025, up from £952 million the previous year, taking total lent to over £6 billion iwoca reveals a record year of growth and lending in 2025, and announces an expansion of services in new areas to provide SMEs with a range of products to help them understand, access and manage credit. Providing tech-led decisions to help SMEs grow iwoca's financial accounts show revenue increased by 56% to £366 million in 2025, up from £234 million the previous year. Across its markets in the UK and Germany, the company provided £1.5 billion in funding, rising from £952 million in 2024, across ~100,000 SME loans funded in 2025. iwoca has now lent over £6 billion to small businesses since 2012. The growth in lending is powered by iwoca's proprietary technology, data-driven approach, and market-leading customer experience. Productivity improvements alongside growth at scale, helped to increase profits to £85.1 million in 2025. Building products to help SMEs solve problems iwoca is reinvesting these profits into solving more problems for SMEs. The company today announces the launch of its Business Credit Card, which will give UK SMEs access to flexible credit for day-to-day spending and unexpected costs. This follows the launch of Credit Compass earlier this year - a free tool designed to give every UK SME clear insight into their business's credit standing, and iwocaPay in 2020 - a B2B BNPL service which gives businesses and their customers greater flexibility over payment terms. Over 10,000 SMEs have registered with Credit Compass, giving them insights into their financial status, tools to improve their credit health and expanded access to credit. iwocaPay has processed £100 million of payments for 13,000 firms - the vast majority of whom have annual revenue of less than £500,000, meaning thousands of small businesses are accessing trade credit for the first time. iwoca is set to launch further products over the coming months in insurance and M&A to give SMEs more tools to address the challenges they face. Alongside these new products, iwoca has ambitious plans to continue growing its lending business. The company recently closed a new £250 million facility with a leading UK bank and WAM Capital. iwoca's lending capabilities are also boosted by over 50 partnerships which give SMEs access to finance through platforms they regularly use, including Starling, Tide, Monzo and xero. Christoph Rieche, iwoca's CEO and co-founder said: "Since launch in 2012, we've focused relentlessly on our mission to finance underserved SMEs. While we're now lending at scale, and announcing new products and partnerships, the funding gap continues to widen. We have more work to do." iwoca's recent growth and the development of new products led it to win Fintech Company of the Year 2026 at the Fintech Awards London. Get started. * Borrow up to £1,000,000 * Repay early with no fees * From 1 day to 24 months * Applying won't affect your credit score

Business Money

Sep 7th, 2026

DNA Payments partners with iwoca to deliver new funding options that empower UK SME growth.

DNA Payments partners with iwoca to deliver new funding options that empower UK SME growth. DNA Payments, one of the UK's largest independent payment companies, has expanded its merchant funding offering through a new partnership with one of Europe's largest SME lenders, iwoca. Through this partnership, DNA Payments' clients can now easily apply for an iwoca Flexi Loan of between £1,000 and £1m, directly from their Merchant Portal and App. The fully digital application process, with approvals typically processed within minutes, offers greater choice and flexibility to thousands of SMEs using DNA Payments. The partnership comes amid ongoing uncertainty for UK small businesses. According to iwoca's latest SME Expert Index, 78% of finance brokers expect supply chain disruption to negatively impact small business performance, while 70% say their SME clients are concerned about rising energy prices. Running costs have risen to the top of SMEs' concerns, cited by 54% of brokers. "The opportunity for UK businesses has never been greater, and we're working hard to provide the financial services they need to realise that opportunity," said Colin Neil, CEO of DNA Payments. "By adding term loans to our funding options, we can better support our clients when they need it most." "This partnership means more businesses can access funding exactly where they already are - inside the tools they use every day," said Harry Cranfield, head of partnerships at iwoca. "Funding should meet the needs of actually running a business. That's what every business owner goes through and accessing finance should fit around that."

BizClik

Sep 4th, 2026

iwoca brings £1m SME loans to Starling Bank users.

iwoca brings £1m SME loans to Starling Bank users. September 04, 2026 iwoca CCO Colin Goldstein shares how Starling Bank, embedded finance and API data sharing are enabling self-serve SME loans for business customers iwoca is embedding its SME lending directly inside Starling Bank's mobile and online banking through a full API integration, allowing business customers to apply for loans of up to £1m (US$1.4bn) without leaving their banking environment. The deal showcases how embedded finance is shifting from pilot projects to core distribution for specialist lenders, with data sharing and automated decisioning now table stakes for serving small businesses at scale. The Starling partnership extends iwoca's long-running embedded finance strategy, which began with its 2017 Tide integration and now spans more than 50 active partnerships across banking, accounting and marketplace platforms. By meeting SMEs inside the tools they already use, iwoca reduces friction at the "moment of need" and increases approval velocity through real-time data access. "Starling has built one of the UK's leading digital banks by obsessing over the customer experience and that's exactly the mindset we share," iwoca's Chief Commercial Officer Colin Goldstein exclusively tells FinTech Magazine. "The full API integration means their business customers can now access iwoca's funding seamlessly, right inside the app they already bank with. It's why embedded finance is the present and the future of SME lending. "Partnerships like this are central to how Fintech Magazine grow: with more than 50 active partnerships, Fintech Magazine has the potential to reach millions of small businesses through the platforms they already use every day. "Small businesses are the foundation of its economy and when they have access to finance at the moment of need, the positive effect is felt everywhere. That's exactly what Fintech Magazine has been doing for 15 years. "In the UK, iwoca's lending supported £3.5 billion (US$4.7bn) of GDP and 51,600 jobs over the last 12 months. "Fintech Magazine is also having a huge impact on individual businesses: its research shows that firms which access the funding they need go on to grow their revenue and succeed for longer. "Every partnership like this one takes us closer to our mission of financing one million businesses and creating even more value for the economy." The benefits of the partnership. Starling business customers can now apply for iwoca funding from within the Starling app, sharing their data seamlessly via API integration. They can access loans of up to £1m over five years to support their growth, through a fully self-serve journey with automated decisions and customer support available when needed. The integration removes manual document collection and shortens time-to-cash, a critical advantage for cash-flow-constrained SMEs. The offering is positioned as "fast, flexible business loans" with a predictable, fixed monthly term loan from £1,000 up to £1m, fast decisions and no hidden fees - with checking eligibility not affecting a customer's credit score. Key features of the embedded offering: * In-app application flow inside Starling's mobile and online banking, typically completed in about five minutes * API-based data sharing for real-time eligibility checks and automated underwriting, with soft credit checks on application * Loan sizes £1,000 to £1m, with terms from one to five years and monthly interest rates starting from 1.5% per 30 days (49% APR representative) * Instant decisions on loans up to £100,000 and typical decisions within 24 hours for larger amounts * No early repayment fees, with interest charged only for the days the loan is outstanding * Funds paid directly into the customer's Starling business account once the offer is accepted Economic impact and mission scale. Research from Capital Economics, commissioned by iwoca, shows its lending supported £3.5 billion of UK GDP and 51,600 jobs in the 12 months to January 2026, with every £100 deployed generating around £230 of economic activity. Since 2012, the lender has provided more than £4.5 billion to more than 100,000 UK businesses and has committed at least £1.5 billion of new funding for 2026. The Starling integration is designed to accelerate progress toward iwoca's mission of financing one million small businesses. Capital Economics analysis commissioned by iwoca finds SMEs that receive a specialist loan are 70% more likely to still be trading three years later than the UK average, with 80% of 2021-incorporated iwoca customers still on the Companies House register in 2025 versus 46% of all peers. The research also finds that cash flow remains a persistent barrier, with 48% of microbusinesses reporting cash-flow challenges in 2026, while challenger and specialist lenders now account for 68% of UK SME lending, up from 39% in 2012. Christoph Rieche, CEO and Co-Founder of iwoca, says: "Small businesses with real potential are being held back because many can't access the finance they need at the right moment, it's certainly not a lack of ambition. "What this research shows is that when finance is delivered, businesses are much more likely to weather difficult periods and succeed over the longer term. "With better financial support, SMEs tend to grow revenues, hire, build something sustainable, and contribute substantially to the economy." iwoca has funded more than 100,000 businesses, lending more than £4.5 billion since 2012. It has an ecosystem of partners including: * Starling Bank: UK digital bank serving millions of personal and business customers, known for app-first UX and open-banking capabilities. Its API ecosystem enables third-party services like iwoca to embed lending directly in the banking journey * Tide: Business banking platform and early embedded finance partner for iwoca, helping prove the model of in-app SME lending via API data sharing and automated decisions * Love Finance: Fast-growing UK SME lender and broker that integrated iwoca's API in late 2025 to speed decisioning and expand flexible funding options for small businesses * Binq: Business marketplace that connected to iwoca's broker API using Open Banking data and AI chat to surface funding from £1,000 to £1m in real time * Zempler Bank: Digital bank for start-ups and microbusinesses that partnered with iwoca to broaden its SME product set with quick-decision, flexible-repayment Executives. * Christoph Rieche CEO & Co-founder * Colin Goldstein Chief Commercial Officer, UK * James Dear Co-founder | Head of Systems & Numbers Company Portals