Square Peg leads $18m round for Australian lender
Australian online mortgage marketplace Athena Home Loans has raised a A$25 million ($18 million) Series B round led by existing backer Square Peg Capital, with participation by new investors Hostplus and Airtree Ventures.
Athena, led by former executives from National Australia Bank, is developing an online platform to help homeowners refinance their mortgages with better loan terms through the superannuation sector and other non-bank lenders. The platform is currently in testing mode, with plans to go live in the first quarter of 2019.
With lower interest rates available through its lenders, Athena hopes to save borrowers up to A$100,000 over the life of their loans, allowing them to pay off their homes earlier. The company aims to loan A$1 billion in its first year of operations.
The new funding round brings Athena’s total capital raised to over A$45 million, including a A$15 million Series A round earlier this year led by Square Peg and Macquarie Capital. According to media reports linked from Square Peg’s Twitter account, Athena will use the capital for product development, as well as for sales and marketing once the platform is launched.
Square Peg is currently investing its debut fund, which closed last year at A$234 million. The firm backs start-ups in Australia, Southeast Asia, and Israel. Fintech investments include Australian cross-border payments company Airwallex and small business lender Prospa, which raised A$146.5 million in its IPO earlier this year, as well as Indonesian online payment and credit platform FinAccel.
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