NatWest Group Takes Minority Stake in Bourn to Boost SME Working Capital Innovation

NatWest Group is taking a minority stake in London-based fintech Bourn, according to a report by Sky News, as the high street bank looks to boost innovation in how it serves business customers.

Bourn, launched last year to help small and medium-sized enterprises tackle persistent cashflow pressures, is raising £3.5m in a new funding round in which NatWest is participating. Other backers in the round include Portfolio Ventures, McPike Global Family Office, Haatch, Love Ventures and Aperture, with the fresh capital earmarked to speed up the rollout of Bourn’s flagship product, the Flexible Trade Account (FTA).

The FTA is billed by Bourn as a modern take on the traditional business overdraft, embedding overdraft-style flexibility directly into the existing bank accounts and financial platforms used by SMEs, and aiming to strip out friction so capital can move more quickly to where it’s needed.

“2025 has been a year of validation, proving that SMEs and their funding partners need a more modern, data-driven approach to working capital,” Nick Tracey, Bourn’s co-founder and chief executive, said. “This investment round shows that established banks see the same opportunity we do: to bring liquidity closer to the point of need and help businesses fund growth more dynamically. Our goal is to reinvent the business overdraft for SMEs. When working capital flows easily, businesses invest, hire and grow. That’s how we make finance work for the real economy again.”

For NatWest, led by chief executive Paul Thwaite, the deal is intended to pave the way for collaboration between the bank and Bourn to support mid-market and wider business customers. NatWest plans to use insights from the FTA to explore how embedded working capital tools can bolster cashflow access for entrepreneurs and established firms alike.

“Now more than ever, SMEs need the right support to scale and grow – which is why Bourn’s offering has so much potential,” said Ladi Greenstreet, head of strategic investments at NatWest. “Their founding team combines deep banking expertise with genuine fintech innovation, while their capabilities complement our ambition to help customers access working capital seamlessly through the platforms they already use. Supporting Bourn reinforces our commitment to helping fintechs thrive while ensuring our commercial mid-market customers can access the funding and support they need.”

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