Press
Surpasses $1 Billion in Best Egg Loans and Leads the Market in Profitability
Wilmington, DE – July 17, 2015 – Marlette Funding, LLC, the national marketplace for Best Egg unsecured personal loans, announced today that it raised $75 million in equity funding to accelerate growth, furthered its partnership agenda, and began putting loans on its own balance sheet. The round was led by Invus Opportunities, a diversified global private equity firm, and included Navient (NASDAQ: NAVI), the nation’s leading loan management, servicing, and asset recovery company, as well as existing investors. Marlette also anticipates closing over $450 million in debt facilities later this summer with several leading financial institutions.
“We are very excited to partner with Marlette Funding, an emerging star in this multi-billion dollar, online lending market,” stated Ben Tsai, a Partner at Invus Opportunities. “We were attracted to the transformative market opportunity, the executive team, the unique approach, and the remarkable results that Marlette has achieved since its inception just over a year ago.”
The investment of $75 million comes on the heels of crossing the $1 billion mark for loans originated through its flagship product, Best Egg. A recent article in Lend Academy heralded Marlette as the fastest-growing marketplace lender. Marlette’s 2015 loan originations have already far exceeded its 2014 full-year total of $383 million. Moreover, the company is profitable on a GAAP basis YTD 2015 and has broken even on a cumulative basis.
“We are thrilled to collaborate with two marquee investors to deliver simple and efficient products and services to the consumer market. The investment caps a highly successful first 16 months,” said Jeffrey Meiler, CEO at Marlette Funding. “Being able to lend on our own balance sheet is significant. It signifies to our buyers that we have confidence in the quality of our loans and positions us for success as the market evolves and matures.”
The massive $3 trillion consumer lending market is now on the cusp of total technological transformation. To date, most people have received credit from traditional financial institutions, such as banks, credit card companies, and credit unions, but now are turning to secure, simple, and efficient online lending platforms. Marlette is leading this revolution by leveraging years of experience in the finance industry, as well as cutting-edge technologies.
The mission has been to build “a specialty finance company with the objective of getting responsible individuals back on track to building a meaningful nest egg.” Marlette’s 2015 lending numbers confirm that “the consumer experience has been an overwhelming success.”
About Marlette Funding
Marlette Funding, LLC, is a national personal loan marketplace based in Wilmington, DE. Marlette Funding was founded in August 2013 and launched its first innovative online installment loan product offering, Best Egg, in March 2014.