Melbourne-headquartered fintech company Openpay recently secured a £25 million funding facility with leading UK financier Global Growth Capital to support continued growth in their recently established UK business.
Since launching in the UK in June 2019, Openpay's UK business has grown rapidly, thanks to strong relationships with highly active UK retailers, such as Watchshop, KC Sofas, Instasmile, Masdings and Skinny Tan.
Most recently, they launched with £2.1b retailer, JD Sports.
Currrently, Openpay's UK business is all online and sits within the retail sector. As the company continues to drive awareness of their offering as a payment option in the UK, they also plan to expand into other key verticals such as healthcare, automotive and home improvement. Openpay expect to see their payment plans offered in-store to complement the online offering.
Global Victoria's Katie van den Bos and Ellen Walsh from the London Victorian Government Trade and Investment (VGTI) office had the opportunity to chat to Openpay CEO, Michael Eidel about their journey to the UK market.
Why did you choose the UK?
Openpay first launched into the UK market in June last year. This made sense for us as while "buy now, pay later" was a well understood and established financial instrument in Australia, little had been done to introduce it into the UK.
Tell us about your journey to the UK? What was your first step?
We explored the UK market for customer preferences and behaviours and merchant needs to inform the best Openpay product for the UK market.
We worked with local advisors to get all regulatory, legal and compliance related matters right, as part of our commitment to providing a 'responsible' buy now, pay later product. Initially we set up a small team focussed on merchant acquisition, taking learnings on the way leading to our successful launch in June 2019.
What advice would you give to companies who are thinking about expanding to the UK?
Work with the right local people – customers, clients, advisors and other experts, to get things right from the outset. Learn and pivot quickly as markets are different, the 'customer is king' everywhere, but even more so in the UK, so local knowledge is crucial.
Looking to expand to the UK, Europe or Israel?
The VGTI Office in London assists Victorian companies to expand to the UK, Europe and Israel and can help your export business by:
- introducing you to local partners
- providing industry insights
- leading trade missions in market.
Ready to go global? Our team in the UK are ready to start the conversation.
