BBVA Spark
The venture and growth lending arm of Spanish bank BBVA, lending £2.6m to £21m from the bank's own balance sheet to venture-backed technology companies, with a London team since 2024.
What they do
BBVA Spark lends venture debt funded directly from BBVA's balance sheet rather than from a closed-end fund, which is unusual in this market and removes the deployment-period pressure a fund carries. The UK team was established in London in October 2024 and completed its first British transaction, a £15m facility, in April 2025. Borrowers must be venture-backed at Series A or later, in software, financial technology, artificial intelligence, marketplaces or travel technology, and credit approval runs through the parent bank's risk structure.
Where they fit in a lower-mid-market raise
A bank balance sheet behind venture debt means a lender that can hold a position through a cycle and follow a company as it grows, rather than one working to a fund's investment period. For a venture-backed UK company raising £5m to £20m of debt alongside its equity investors, that durability is worth weighing against the fund alternatives.
Where they are not the fit
Institutional venture backing at Series A or later is an eligibility condition, which puts every conventional lower-mid-market borrower outside the model regardless of profitability. Product-market fit and a growth phase are expected. Pricing is not disclosed, and market convention for bank-originated venture debt runs to a high single-digit or low double-digit all-in cost plus a small warrant.
Published terms
- Pricing
- Not publicly disclosed by BBVA Spark. Market context for European bank-originated venture debt: 8-15% all-in (interest plus fees), with potential small warrant coverage (0.5-1.5% of loan value).
- Speed to terms
- Not published
- Sponsored or sponsorless
- VC-backed companies only. Explicitly requires institutional VC investors as an eligibility condition. Traditional LMM corporates without VC backing are outside the stated model. Series A through later stages
- Where they lend
- UK active (London team established October 2024); first UK deal April 2025 (Plum £15m). Also active in Spain (home market), Germany (roadsurfer, Lanes & Planes), rest of Europe expanding. Latin America (Argentina, Colombia, Mexico).
- How they decide
- Credit approval presumably through BBVA parent risk committee structures given balance-sheet funding. Process not publicly documented
- Search funds and ETA
- No published route for search-fund or first-time acquirer borrowers
As published by the lender and last reviewed August 2026. Terms quoted on a deal are set by the credit, not by a published band.
What rules a deal out
Stated limits, taken from BBVA Spark’s own published criteria. A limit is where a lender starts from, not where it always ends: several of these move on a strong enough credit.
- Requires institutional VC backing (Series A+); non-VC-backed corporates are explicitly outside the model
- Must have product-market fit and be in growth/scaling phase
- Not suitable for traditional LMM corporates without venture investor base
- EBITDA/leverage assessment not applicable; assesses runway and VC quality instead
How they sit against the category
- Its published ceiling is £21m; 19 of the 46 private-credit funds here go at least as high.
- 15 of the 46 publish an indicative price at all; it is one of them.
Counted across the 46 private-credit & direct-lending funds in this directory, on what each one publishes. What a lender discloses and what it will do are different things.
Questions this page answers
How large a facility does BBVA Spark write?
Published facilities run £2.6m to £21m. A band is what a lender states it will do, not what it will do on a given credit.
Does BBVA Spark lend to search funds or ETA buyers?
Not on the published evidence. BBVA Spark publishes no route for search-fund or first-time acquirer borrowers. A searcher's route to a lender usually runs through the quality of the target and the equity behind it.
Does BBVA Spark lend to companies without a private-equity sponsor?
Not on the published evidence. BBVA Spark lends alongside institutional equity or sponsor backing rather than to unbacked borrowers.
Where does BBVA Spark lend?
UK active (London team established October 2024); first UK deal April 2025 (Plum £15m). Also active in Spain (home market), Germany (roadsurfer, Lanes & Planes), rest of Europe expanding. Latin America (Argentina, Colombia, Mexico).
What does BBVA Spark lend?
The published product set is venture debt / growth lending. Published sector focus is ai, digital marketplace, fintech, saas, software.
On the record
April 2025: £15m venture debt to Plum, UK personal finance fintech app (first UK deal.
2025: €25m (~£21m) venture debt to roadsurfer, German campervan/outdoor travel platform.
2025: €25m (~£21m) venture debt to Exoticca, Spanish digital travel agency (VC-backed, Series D.
2025: Double-digit EUR venture debt to Lanes & Planes, German corporate travel SaaS.
2025: €5m (~£4.25m) venture debt to Casafari, European real estate data platform.
Sources: bbvaspark.com
This profile is a curated reference note drawn from public sources, not financial advice or a recommendation. Appetite and terms change; a lender's fit for a given credit is established by approaching it, not inferred from a page.