Oakbrook secures £130m debt funding facility from AB CarVal and NatWest to accelerate growth and support financial inclusion through its innovative financial solutions

Funding will support accelerated new lending as Oakbrook helps more people simplify and personalise their finances through smart and responsible borrowing solutions.

Nottingham, 4 September 2025 – Oakbrook, a leading unsecured consumer lender in the UK, headquartered in Nottingham and backed by Blenheim Chalcot, the venture builder, has secured a £130 million funding facility from funds managed by AB CarVal and NatWest. The three-year facility will support the continued growth of Oakbrook’s personal lending business and help more customers access credit they can manage.

The new facility will enable Oakbrook to serve a wide range of customers across the UK through its direct-to-consumer channels. The funding will be used to support new loan originations and continued product development as Oakbrook continues to simplify and personalise borrowing for even more people across the UK – helping customers take control of their finances through smart, responsible credit solutions.

“This financing highlights the confidence that our institutional partners have in Oakbrook’s mission to make borrowing simpler and more inclusive. Their backing strengthens our ability to deliver responsible credit solutions for UK consumers while supporting our sustainable growth.” Ed Birch, CFO at Oakbrook.

“This partnership with AB CarVal enables us to grow our lending reach while staying true to our purpose – to simplify and personalise borrowing,” said Jon Painter, CEO of Oakbrook. “It also allows us to build on the strong relationship we established with AB CarVal in 2024 and allows us to further expand our customer offering in partnership with NatWest.”

“We are delighted to support Oakbrook with this new facility to help them continue to expand consumer access to affordable credit in a simplified way. An important part of our asset-based finance strategy is partnering with high-calibre originators and management teams to fund in-demand consumer credit solutions into the real economy,” said Robert Sinclair, Managing Director with AB CarVal.

“We are pleased to support Oakbrook in its mission to make borrowing simpler and more inclusive. This facility underscores our commitment to backing innovative financial solutions that empower customers and promote responsible lending across the UK ” said Manuel Bercovici, Director, NatWest.

About Oakbrook

Oakbrook is a consumer lending business on a mission to change lending for the better. Based at Scale Space Nottingham, it is part of the portfolio of businesses supported by the UK’s leading venture builder, Blenheim Chalcot.

Oakbrook’s in-house technology and analytics consumer lending platform, supports a multi-product, multi-brand strategy and digitally enabled customer services.

Oakbrook brings together people with deep expertise in consumer lending, advanced analytics and forward-thinking technologists, with a shared belief that there’s a better way to do consumer lending by being more personalised and customer focused.

Additional information about Oakbrook’s products can be found at oakbrookloans.com, finioloans.com and oakbrookone.com.

About AB CarVal

AB CarVal is an established global alternative investment manager and part of AllianceBernstein’s Private Alternatives business. Since 1987, AB CarVal’s team has navigated through ever-changing credit market cycles, opportunistically investing $153 billion in 5,820 transactions across 82 countries. Today, AB CarVal has approximately $20 billion* in assets under management in corporate securities, loan portfolios, structured credit and hard assets. Additional information about AB CarVal may be found at www.abcarval.com.

About NatWest

NatWest serves retail, private, and commercial & institutional customers with a wide range of products and services—from everyday banking to tailored funding and risk management solutions. In addition, NatWest offers specialist sector expertise in areas such as sustainable energy, commercial real estate, and technology, helping customer navigate complex challenges and unlock new opportunities.

*As of June 30, 2025. AUM is comprised fee-earning AUM and fee-eligible AUM. Fee-earning AUM includes those assets currently qualified to generate management fees. Fee-eligible AUM includes capital that is committed to an AB CarVal Fund but is currently uncalled or recallable. The number represented here excludes assets under AB CarVal’s management that are not generating management fees due to the maturity of the Fund but includes amounts that do not generate management fees solely due to AB CarVal’s decision not to charge management fees.