Concept Ventures first partnered with founder Jamie Beaumont in 2021. At the time, the company was operating as a recruitment finance business designed to help SMEs spread the cost of recruitment fees.
Despite the complexity of the sector, which sits at the intersection of lending, regulation, and financial services, Concept identified a strong founder-market fit. We recognised Jamie’s conviction and the clear market need for more flexible B2B financing solutions, leading us to support the company from its earliest stages.
A defining moment in the company’s trajectory was the strategic decision to pivot from a vertical-specific tool into Playter: a comprehensive B2B "Buy Now, Pay Later" engine. This shift allowed businesses to finance any invoice, significantly expanding the Total Addressable Market (TAM).
Following this pivot, Playter successfully secured $55M in debt and equity financing in 2022, navigating a challenging macroeconomic environment. This capital enabled the team to build a robust, scalable technology platform capable of handling complex credit operations in real-time.
The acquisition by Shawbrook Bank validates the quality of the technology and the operational rigor the Playter team has built. Shawbrook has acquired a best-in-class platform to enhance their offering for SME customers, providing Playter’s technology the ideal environment to scale.
Building in financial services requires resilience of the highest order. We would like to congratulate Jamie Beaumont and the wider Playter team on this achievement. Throughout our partnership, the team demonstrated a rare consistency in communication and strategic alignment, navigating the complexities of scaling a regulated fintech business to a successful exit.
Concept Ventures is proud to have supported Playter from the pre-seed stage through to this exit. We wish the team every success in this next chapter with Shawbrook Bank.
