ThinCats has narrowed its pre-tax losses, as it makes progress in its transition to a balance sheet lender.

The alternative business lender reported a pre-tax loss of £5.1m for the 12 months to 30 June 2023, according to documents filed with Companies House.

This compares to a pre-tax loss of nearly £6m in the 12 months to June 2022.

Turnover for the 12-month period to 30 June 2023 was £42m, up from £33m the previous year. ThinCats attributed this to “continued progress in the group’s business model from an asset originator and manager to a balance sheet model, supported by the funding lines provided by InterVest, Barclays and Citibank.”

Read more: ThinCats secures £696m funding line with support from British Business Bank

As a result, total balance sheet assets under management grew from £356m to £432m over the past 12 months.

Loan origination increased by 17 per cent year-on-year to £357m.

ThinCats said that the group “has continued to make excellent progress over the last 12 months in its mission to help more mid-sized UK SMEs access the finance they need to grow.”

Read more: Fintex Capital provides additional mezzanine finance to ThinCats

It added: “Key drivers of the strong financial results were significant follow-on lending to existing borrowers, deepening relationships with regional business finance advisers and a growing presence in lower-mid market private equity transactions and healthcare lending.”

Looking ahead, ThinCats said it will plan to continue to develop and diversify its lending operations, and will continue to source additional funding to strengthen its ability to grow its assets under management.

ThinCats’ results come after recent research revealed that it was the top alternative lender for M&A transactions in 2023 and the largest lender overall in London.

Experian Market IQ’s 2023 M&A report found that ThinCats funded 41 deals last year, coming second behind HSBC which funded 56 deals.

ThinCats was the leading debt provider to the London M&A market with 12 deals.