The Global King of Supply-Chain Debt
Bloomberg Businessweek|February 15 - 22, 2021
Greeensill Capital arranges loans that speed up business payments. That’s riskier than it sounds
Lucca de Paoli with Ben Stupples
The Global King of Supply-Chain Debt

Lex Greensill rose from working on his family’s melon and sugar cane farm in Australia to roaming the skies in a private jet. The ascent has been far from smooth.

His London-based Greensill Capital has revamped the humdrum business of supply-chain finance, a kind of lending that speeds up payments between companies. The 44-year-old financier says the firm provided $150 billion to businesses and customers in 175 countries last year. But some view him as an aggressive risk taker who’s often pushing the boundaries in an area of finance less regulated than traditional banking. Now he’s considering a round of fundraising that would value his company at about $7 billion and his stake at more than $1.5 billion. That’s just a steppingstone to his ultimate aim: going public and rivaling the world’s biggest financial companies as a short-term lender.

Greensill Capital has been embroiled in scandals involving some of the biggest names in global finance. Loans it helped to arrange were the focus of conflict-of-interest accusations last year involving Credit Suisse Group AG and Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank Group Corp. Others were at the center of a 2018 crisis at Swiss asset manager GAM Holding AG that brought down a star trader. And Germany’s financial regulator is scrutinizing a bank Greensill owns for its heavy concentration of loans to British metals tycoon Sanjeev Gupta.

Denne historien er fra February 15 - 22, 2021-utgaven av Bloomberg Businessweek.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra February 15 - 22, 2021-utgaven av Bloomberg Businessweek.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEKSe alt
Instagram's Founders Say It's Time for a New Social App
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Instagram's Founders Say It's Time for a New Social App

The rise of AI and the fall of Twitter could create opportunities for upstarts

time-read
4 mins  |
March 13, 2023
Running in Circles
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Running in Circles

A subscription running shoe program aims to fight footwear waste

time-read
3 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
What I Learned Working at a Hawaiien Mega-Resort
Bloomberg Businessweek US

What I Learned Working at a Hawaiien Mega-Resort

Nine wild secrets from the staff at Turtle Bay, who have to manage everyone from haughty honeymooners to go-go-dancing golfers.

time-read
10 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
How Noma Will Blossom In Kyoto
Bloomberg Businessweek US

How Noma Will Blossom In Kyoto

The best restaurant in the world just began its second pop-up in Japan. Here's what's cooking

time-read
3 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
The Last-Mover Problem
Bloomberg Businessweek US

The Last-Mover Problem

A startup called Sennder is trying to bring an extremely tech-resistant industry into the age of apps

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Tick Tock, TikTok
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Tick Tock, TikTok

The US thinks the Chinese-owned social media app is a major national security risk. TikTok is running out of ways to avoid a ban

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Cleaner Clothing Dye, Made From Bacteria
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Cleaner Clothing Dye, Made From Bacteria

A UK company produces colors with less water than conventional methods and no toxic chemicals

time-read
3 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Pumping Heat in Hamburg
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Pumping Heat in Hamburg

The German port city plans to store hot water underground and bring it up to heat homes in the winter

time-read
3 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Sustainability: Calamari's Climate Edge
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Sustainability: Calamari's Climate Edge

Squid's ability to flourish in warmer waters makes it fitting for a diet for the changing environment

time-read
4 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
New Money, New Problems
Bloomberg Businessweek US

New Money, New Problems

In Naples, an influx of wealthy is displacing out-of-towners lower-income workers

time-read
4 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023