YouLend Makes Berlin Its EU Headquarters
With €500M in loans already brokered and partners like Amazon and Shopify on board, YouLend is scaling fast from its new Berlin base.
Berlin is gaining another fintech heavyweight. British lending platform YouLend is turning its Berlin office into the operational center for its entire EU business, Finance Forward reports exclusively.
Leading the charge is Leonard Strigel, 31, who was promoted to European CEO in January. His mission: build out the Berlin team to at least 70 people by the end of the year. YouLend is currently hiring customer service managers, credit analysts, sales staff, and risk management experts.
The ambition is backed by solid numbers. Since launching in Germany in 2024, YouLend has already brokered around €500 million in business loans, making Germany its second-largest market after the UK. The company recently moved into new offices at Potsdamer Platz.
YouLend's model bypasses traditional banks entirely. Founded in London in 2015, the fintech connects small and medium-sized businesses with loans through partnerships with major platforms. In Germany, that means integrations with Amazon, Lieferando, Shopify, Qonto, and Tide. A landmark deal with Amazon in June 2025 alone opened the door to over 47,000 sellers.
Beyond Germany, YouLend is active in Spain, France, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Ireland. All of that will now be coordinated from Berlin.
The market is heating up. Competitors like Berlin-based Banxware, London's Iwoca, Sweden's Qred Bank, and US payments giant Stripe are also eyeing Germany's largely untapped SME lending space. But YouLend, with its growing partner network and a dedicated EU hub in Berlin, is pushing hard to stay ahead.
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