April 2, 2020

North Channel Bank Extends Corporate Loan to nextbike GmbH

To finance its growth strategy, nextbike, the supplier of public bicycle share systems, receives a corporate loan. “In our opinion, nextbike’s business model meets the requirements for sustainability in urban mobility. Therefore, we are pleased to support the further development of this company”, says Harald Zenke, Managing Director of North Channel Bank. nextbike GmbH is the European market leader in bike sharing. Its range of bike sharing systems is currently available in 25 countries spread over 200 cities and communities. In Germany, nextbike bike rental systems can be found at about 60 locations.

Financing Expands Scope of Action

“We are very grateful for the partnership with North Channel Bank, as it enables us to take the next steps towards growth and gear the company towards sustainable profitability,” states Peter Vedder, CFO of nextbike GmbH.

As a pioneer in the business of bike sharing systems, nextbike has been continuously developing these for over 15 years. The business model of the company is based on two pillars. On the one hand, the company operates its own systems. On the other hand, nextbike profits from the licensing business. Here, the hardware is sold completely to an operator, such as a municipality, but nextbike takes over the software-based operation of the systems.

Impact Finance

“Providers like nextbike help to reduce traffic in downtown areas and cut CO2 emissions. The growth financing for nextbike is a good example of North Channel Bank’s focus on topics such as sustainability and social responsibility,” says Zenke.

North Channel Bank GmbH & Co. KG was founded in 1924 as the privately owned bank Bankhaus Oswald Kruber located in Berlin. In 2009, a North American group of investors with expertise in the US Life Settlements sector acquired the bank and renamed it North Channel Bank. In the following years, the bank developed into one of the leading institutions in US Life Settlement financing. For many years, the bank has been working with the experienced and renowned US servicer NorthStar Life Services, LLC, a former affiliate, and offers not only financing but also investments in US Life Settlements. The affiliate NorthStar Life Settlements Trading, LLC, Irvine, California, renamed in 2020, handles the trading of policies in this business segment. In the Structured Finance division, the bank focuses in particular on financing in the renewable energy sector (focus: equity interim financing), capital goods, and growth financing.

nextbike is Europe’s bike share leader. The company is getting more and more people on their bikes by making them a natural part of urban mobility. As pioneers, nextbike has been developing sustainable bike sharing systems for over 15 years. Currently the company is active in over 200 cities, and understands its service as a complement to bus & train. In 2019, nextbike was awarded as test winner in the German bike sharing market by Stiftung Warentest.