A business lender which ranks among Britain's fastest-growing companies is in talks with private equity firms about a sale valuing it at in excess of £300m.
Sky News has learnt that Portman Finance Group, which was founded by serial entrepreneur Alex Read in 2007, has drawn interest from bidders including Pollen Street Capital.
City sources said that Stephens, the investment bank, had been running a sale process for several weeks.
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It was unclear on Monday whether Portman Finance Group had decided to sell a controlling stake in a transaction or was also open to a minority stake sale.
Several other buyout firms are also understood to be involved in the process.
Portman Finance Group is a specialist business-to-business finance broker and lender, and has provided funding to more than 20,000 SMEs since it was established.
The company has featured on Sunday Times and Financial Times lists of fast-growing British companies this year, with revenues rising by 81% in the year to September 30, 2025.
Profits nearly doubled over the same period to just over £15m.
In total, it has secured more than £1.5bn in funding since 2007, according to its website.
Attempts to reach Portman Finance Group by email and telephone were unsuccessful, while Pollen Street declined to comment.
(c) Sky News 2026: Business lender Portman Finance Group in talks about £300m sale
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