Trump's son-in-law Kushner takes stake in UK lender OakNorth
Sky News has learnt that Affinity Partners, which has amassed billions of dollars in assets under management, has signed a deal to acquire an 8% stake in OakNorth.
The deal is expected to be concluded in the coming weeks, industry sources said on Friday.
Mr Kushner established Affinity Partners in 2021 after leaving his role as an adviser to President Trump during his first term in the White House.
He is married to Ivanka, the president's daughter.
Affinity manages money for a range of investors including the sovereign wealth funds of Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Insiders said that Affinity Partners was buying the OakNorth stake from an unidentified existing investor in the digital bank.
The valuation at which the transaction was taking place was unclear, although OakNorth was valued at $2.8bn in its most recent funding round in 2019.
OakNorth, which was founded by Rishi Khosla, is targeting substantial loan growth in the US in the coming years.
Earlier this year, it agreed to buy Community Unity Bank (CUB), which is based in Birmingham, Michigan, in an all-share deal.
The transaction is awaiting regulatory approval.
OakNorth began lending in the US in 2023 and has since made roughly $1.3bn of loans.
The bank is chaired by the former City watchdog chair Lord Turner, and is among a group of digital-only British banks which are expected to explore stock market listings in the next few years.
Monzo, Revolut and Starling Bank are all likely to float by the end of 2028, although London is far from certain to be the destination for all of them.
Similarly, OakNorth's ambition to grow its US presence means it is likely to be advised by bankers that New York is a more logical listing venue for the business.
Launched in 2015, the bank is among a group of lenders founded after the 2008 financial crisis.
Its UK clients include F1 Arcade and Ultimate Performance, both of which have themselves expanded into the US market.
Its existing backers include the giant Japanese investor SoftBank, GIC, the Singaporean state fund, and Toscafund, the London-based asset management firm.
Since its launch, OakNorth has lent around £12.5bn and boasts an industry-leading loan default ratio.
Last year, it paid out just over £30m to shareholders in its maiden dividend payment.
OakNorth has been growing rapidly, saying this year that it had recorded pre-tax profits of £214.8m in 2024, up from £187.3m the previous year.
It made more than £2.1bn of new loans last year.
On Friday, a spokesperson for OakNorth declined to comment.
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