In a strategic move to accelerate innovation for its business customers, NatWest Group has acquired a minority stake in a promising London-based financial technology start-up.
A Strategic Investment for SME Support
The high street banking giant, led by chief executive Paul Thwaite, is investing in Bourn, a company founded just last year. The fintech's core mission is to tackle the persistent cashflow problems faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the UK. This investment forms part of a broader £3.5 million funding round for Bourn, which is set to be officially announced on Tuesday 2 December 2025.
Other investors contributing to this funding round include Portfolio Ventures, McPike Global Family Office, Haatch, Love Ventures, and Aperture. The fresh capital will be used to accelerate the rollout of Bourn's flagship product, known as the Flexible Trade Account (FTA).
Reinventing the Business Overdraft
Bourn positions its FTA as a fundamental reinvention of the traditional business overdraft. The key innovation lies in embedding overdraft-style flexibility directly into the existing bank accounts and financial platforms that SMEs already use. The company argues that this approach removes administrative friction and unlocks a faster, more seamless flow of working capital for business owners.
"2025 has been a year of validation, proving that SMEs and their funding partners need a more modern, data-driven approach to working capital," said Nick Tracey, Bourn's co-founder and chief executive. "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."
Collaboration and Future Ambitions
The stake has been orchestrated with a clear view to future collaboration. NatWest intends to work with Bourn to assist its mid-market and broader business customer base. The bank plans to use insights gained from the FTA to explore how embedded working capital solutions can strengthen cashflow access for entrepreneurs.
"Now more than ever, SMEs need the right support to scale and grow - which is why Bourn's offering has so much potential," commented 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."
This investment follows closely after Sky News revealed that NatWest is in talks to sell its majority-owned workplace pensions platform, Cushon, to an arm of pensions giant Willis Towers Watson. Together, these moves signal an active period of portfolio management and strategic focus under Paul Thwaite's leadership, as the bank seeks to sharpen its service offering for core customers.
