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Combining Tide and Funding Options to better serve UK SMEs
Oliver Prill, chief executive officer of Tide, and Simon Cureton, Funding Options chief executive officer, tell Open Banking Expo’s Ellie Duncan about their plans to merge the two companies. It follows a recent announcement that Tide’s acquisition of Funding Options has been approved by the UK regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority. Simon reveals his vision for Tide’s existing credit intermediation business once it has merged with Funding Options, while Oliver explains why the UK marketplace for business finance is such a good fit for Tide and its one-platform ethos. They also discuss the environment for SME borrowing and the trends playing out.
Oliver Prill
Oliver Prill
Chief Executive Officer TideOliver joined Tide from German online lender Kreditech, where he served as chief operating officer and helped to transform the business into a leading global fintech company. He has more than 20 years of leadership experience in financial services, having worked across banking and insurance.
In many of his roles he worked closely with small business owners and has always been inspired by their energy and passion but knows that for too long, they have been let down by traditional banks. Oliver is adamant to put founders at the forefront of Tide’s agenda and bring a better business banking alternative to small businesses for good.
Simon Cureton
Simon Cureton
Chief Executive Officer Funding OptionsSimon Cureton is Chief Executive Officer at Funding Options, where he’s using his extensive experience in the alternative finance sector to ensure the company is at the forefront of Open Banking and other innovations within the industry. Before becoming a founding member of Esme Loans, Simon was a graduate of investment banking, holding senior posts globally at Barclays, Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley. His travels have taken him as far as Hong Kong and Australia, where he now has dual citizenship having spent eight years working in finance, most notably at CBA where he started his fintech journey. His international pedigree leaves him well placed to lead Funding Options through the evolving landscape of digital finance.
Ellie Duncan
Ellie Duncan
Head of Content Open Banking ExpoFormer Financial Times Group journalist Ellie Duncan has a decade of experience across financial services. While arguably best-known for her asset management work, she has also covered open banking, credit, private equity and entrepreneurship.
