Sifted tracked just over €4bn of debt financing to European startups in Q1, an increase from the two previous quarters, but 72% lower than Q1 last year, which set the record for the highest ever quarter for debt funding (€14.3bn) in Europe.
Climate tech (€1.4bn) and fintech (€1.2bn) were the most backed industries, but the biggest debt facility went to Munich-based car subscription platform Finn, which raised a €1bn round led by investment banks Citi and Jefferies, taking its total raised so far to €2bn. Finn last year finished 4th on Sifted’s ranking of the 250 fastest-growing companies in Europe.
Other large debt fundraises in Q1 include Berlin green fintech Bees & Bears’ €500m and London-based digital lender Abound, which secured £250m from Deutsche Bank in the same week it was ranked the 11th fastest-growing startup in the UK and Ireland.
Sifted tracked all publicly announced venture debt deals in Q1 2025 and contacted lenders to verify their activity and disclose undisclosed debt agreements. The full ranking is available here.
The most active debt providers in Q1:
1\ Venture Kick
HQ: Switzerland
Deal count: 27
Venture Kick is a non-profit launched in 2007 with the aim of doubling the number of spinouts from Swiss universities and increasing their appeal to investors. Startups developing technology in life sciences, climate tech and deeptech can get initial funding of up to CHF 150k (around €160k) in convertible loans and grant funding.
2\ European Investment Bank (EIB)
HQ: Luxembourg
Deal count: 8
The EIB was Europe’s second most active debt provider in 2024 and achieved the same rank in Q1. It typically offers financing between €5-50m but companies with a valuation of €500m+ can access more. In Q1 it backed a number of growth-stage startups, including German e-fuel producer Ineratec (€40m), Berlin-based fermentation foodtech Formo (€35m) and Dutch pump maintenance monitoring platform Samotics (€20m).
=2\ Tenity
HQ: Switzerland
Deal count: 8
The Zurich-based incubator invests in founders at pre-seed and seed using instruments such as SAFEs — a means for investors to put money into a startup without having to agree on how much the business is worth at that moment — and convertible loan agreements, designed to convert into equity. Tenity has backed more than 250 startups in fintech, insurtech and regtech across Europe and Singapore and runs a number of accelerator programmes.
4\ Kickfund
HQ: Switzerland
Deal count: 7
Founded in 2022, Basel-based Kickfund invests in Swiss deeptech startups after they’ve been recognised by Venture Kick. Backed by the Ernst Göhner and Gebert Rüf Foundations, it co-invests up to CHF 850k (around €910k), either via direct debt financing or convertibles, and has supported over 80 startups to date from its Kickfund Ventures Fund I, which secured CHF 70m (around €75m) last year at first close.
5\ Columbia Lake Partners (CLP)
HQ: UK
Deal count: 5
London-based venture debt provider CLP also achieved a rank of fifth on our 2024 debt ranking, and continues to specialise in loans to post-Series A companies across B2B SaaS, fintech, hardware and consumer. Although announced in mid-April, CLP counts UK car insurtech unicorn Marshmallow as a Q1 deal, which secured $45m in debt funding as part of its $90m Series C.
=5\ Claret Capital Partners
HQ: UK
Deal count: 5
London-based Claret Capital committed over €132m to tech and life sciences companies in 2024, with an average deal size of €4m, putting it third on last year’s most active list by deal count. It recently backed Estonian payments and e-commerce platform Montonio, which ranked 68th on the Sifted 250 last year.
7\ Santander
HQ: Spain
Deal count: 4
The Spanish multinational bank participated in two of Q1’s biggest debt financing agreements. It contributed to Dutch energy storage company Lion Storage’s €350m raise — the third-highest in Q1 — and led the €125m debt round secured by Finnish employee bike service GoByBike. Santander, which holds a 30% stake in London-based venture debt manager Atempo Growth, is committing up to €160m to Atempo’s second fund, which is targeting a fund of €400-500m by final close in early 2026. Atempo, which is also supported by the European Investment Fund and British Business Investments, announced the first close of €300m in early April.
8\ ABN AMRO
HQ: Netherlands
Deal count: 3
Two of the Dutch bank’s three reported debt deals in Q1 were for climate tech startups. Alongside Nordic corporate bank SEB, ABN AMRO lent €46m to Stockholm-based solar operator Alight and also contributed to Lion’s Storage €350m. The other Q1 deal went to Amsterdam prepaid payments company Recharge, which is eyeing two or three acquisitions with its new €45m loan.
9\ BNP Paribas
HQ: France
Deal count: 3
BNP Paribas, Europe’s most active corporate VC investor in 2024, participated in German solar firm Sunfire’s €200m — the fifth-highest debt round — in January alongside a string of other European banks, including Commerzbank and Societe Generale. Another of its lending facilities went to Proxymity, a London-based wealthtech startup which raised $26m.
=9\ CIBC Innovation Banking
HQ: Canada
Deal count: 3
In 2024, CIBC committed over $3bn in venture loans globally, and continued in the same vein in Q1. The Canadian bank provided debt facilities to two Copenhagen-based startups — shipping optimisation platform Zero North ($20m) and research software GetWhy (€8m) — as well as London-based sales call analytics platform Infinity (£5m).
=9\ Rabobank
HQ: Netherlands
Deal count: 3
Dutch bank Rabobank also lent capital to Lion Storage in February — one of three Dutch startups it added to its balance sheet in Q1. Energy asset monitoring platform Withthegrid and biotech Cortalix were the other beneficiaries. Rabobank also operates a CVC unit called Rabo Ventures.
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