High street bank takes minority stake in start-up to trial embedded working capital for small firms
NatWest Group has taken a minority stake in Bourn, a London-based fintech that embeds secured funding into small business banking and finance platforms.
Sky News reported that the investment forms part of a £3.5 million funding round due to be announced on Tuesday and adds another specialist provider to NatWest’s business finance ecosystem, including for mid-market and commercial customers.
Bourn, established in 2024, is focused on short-term working capital for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Its core product, the Flexible Trade Account (FTA), is designed to replicate overdraft-style access to funds from within existing bank accounts and financial platforms used by businesses, rather than through a separate facility.
The start-up says the FTA structure is intended to reduce friction in accessing capital and to speed up liquidity for smaller firms facing cashflow pressure, particularly where traditional overdraft lines may be constrained.
NatWest takes stake in small business finance start-up Bourn https://t.co/UVQaab7Aze
— Sky News (@SkyNews) December 1, 2025
“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 (pictured right), co-founder and chief executive at Bourn.
“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. Our goal is to reinvent the business overdraft for SMEs. When working capital flows easily, businesses invest, hire and grow. That’s how we make finance work for the real economy again.”
NatWest’s stake has been structured alongside contributions from Portfolio Ventures, McPike Global Family Office, Haatch, Love Ventures and Aperture. The funding will be used to support a wider rollout of the FTA among SMEs and their funding partners.
For NatWest, the deal sits within a broader reshaping of its business services. The group has been in discussions to sell its majority holding in workplace pensions platform Cushon to a unit of Willis Towers Watson, while chief executive Paul Thwaite has signalled an emphasis on product and service innovation in core customer segments.
The bank plans to work with Bourn to test how embedded working capital tools can improve cashflow access for its commercial and mid-market business clients. For brokers active in SME and commercial lending, the model may indicate a further shift towards integrated, data-led working capital products within primary banking relationships.
“Now more than ever, SMEs need the right support to scale and grow - which is why Bourn’s offering has so much potential,” said 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.
“Supporting Bourn reinforces our commitment to helping fintechs thrive while ensuring our commercial mid-market customers can access the funding and support they need.”
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