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ANNA has partnered with YouLend to offer revenue-based funding to small businesses through its app. The product gives eligible customers access to up to two months of projected revenue.
The partnership brings YouLend's funding model directly into ANNA's service for small businesses and sole traders. Eligible users can apply within the app and receive funds in as little as 24 hours. Settlement is then taken automatically as a share of future revenue, rather than through fixed loan repayments.
The offer is based on a business's trading history, including income from marketplace sales and payment-provider flows. These can include revenue from platforms and providers such as eBay, Just Eat Takeaway.com, Teya and Dojo.
The launch comes as many smaller companies face cash-flow pressure. Research cited by the companies from the Credit Protection Association found that 42% of small firms were paid late over the past year, while demand for more conventional external finance had fallen to 40% from 63% in 2023.
For ANNA, the partnership formalises demand already visible in its user base. More than 1,531 ANNA customers had used YouLend independently before the integration, with total funding volume of £44.8 million, equal to an average of about £29,300 per business.
That existing use appears to have shaped the decision to place the funding option inside the ANNA app rather than leave customers to seek it elsewhere. ANNA aimed to make access to working capital part of the same service customers already use for invoicing, accounting, and other financial administration.
Revenue model
The product differs from a standard business loan because it is structured as an advance against expected revenue. Funding levels are calculated using money a business is already generating, and collections move in line with trading performance. That means repayments can vary with seasonality and slower periods.
YouLend said 80% of pre-qualified customers are approved, subject to eligibility criteria. ANNA said eligible customers are pre-qualified based on their trading history and then guided through the application process in the app.
The model is likely to appeal most to merchants and service businesses with regular card or marketplace income, particularly those needing short-term liquidity for stock, payroll or site-related costs. Examples given by the companies include buying inventory before a busy period, covering wages during a slower month, paying rent on a new location or refurbishing an existing shop or restaurant.
ANNA has more than 50,000 active customers each month, giving YouLend access to a large base of small business users already using digital tools to manage their finances. YouLend said it works with a range of eCommerce, payments and technology platforms in more than 10 countries and has supported more than 400,000 businesses.
Boris Diakonov, Co-CEO of ANNA, set out the rationale for the service.
"Most small businesses aren't short on revenue, they're short on timing. The money's coming, it's just not here yet. This isn't about waiting for a bank to say yes to a loan. With YouLend, it's about putting the revenue your business is already generating to work now, today, instead of waiting for it to land sometime next week. We built ANNA to get admin out of people's way. Waiting for your own money to arrive shouldn't be one more thing on that list."
The deal also reflects a broader trend in financial services, with software and payments platforms adding lending and cash-flow products to tools that businesses already use daily. Instead of directing customers to a separate lender, providers are increasingly trying to keep services in one place.
Dan Sinclair-Taylor, Country Head, UK and ROI, at YouLend, said the integration places funding where customers already manage their finances.
"Partnering with ANNA means we can meet businesses where they already manage their finances, rather than asking them to go looking for funding elsewhere. ANNA customers already trust the app to handle their admin, so embedding funding into that same experience just made sense. It's one less relationship for a business to manage, not another one to set up."