Wonga, one of Britain's largest short-term money-lenders, has been saved from going bust by an emergency £10m cash injection from a consortium of high-profile technology investors. Sky News ‎can exclusively reveal that Wonga, which was among the pioneers of the UK's online payday lending sector, has been rescued in the last few weeks after its chief executive warned shareholders that it was in danger of becoming insolvent. The fundraising is understood to have taken place at a valuation of just $30m (£23m) prior to the injection of the new money - a stunning decline for a financial technology group which once had ambitions of a New York listing that could have valued it at well over $1bn (£769m).

Sources close to Wonga said the £10m had now been received from prominent venture capital funds‎ such as Accel Partners and Balderton Capital, both of which are long-standing investors in the business, removing the immediate threat to its future. Sky News has been told that Tara Kneafsey‎, the lender's chief executive, informed fellow directors two months ago that an increase in the volume of complaints about loans made before new rules were introduced in 2014 had triggered a big rise in compensation payouts. Wonga, one of Britain's largest short-term money-lenders, has been saved from going bust by an emergency £10m cash injection from a consortium of high-profile technology investors.

Sky News ‎can exclusively reveal that Wonga, which was among the pioneers of the UK's online payday lending sector, has been rescued in the last few weeks after its chief executive warned shareholders that it was in danger of becoming insolvent. The fundraising is understood to have taken place at a valuation of just $30m (£23m) prior to the injection of the new money - a stunning decline for a financial technology group which once had ambitions of a New York listing that could have valued it at well over $1bn (£769m). Sources close to Wonga said the £10m had now been received from prominent venture capital funds‎ such as Accel Partners and Balderton Capital, both of which are long-standing investors in the business, removing the immediate threat to its future. Sky News has been told that Tara Kneafsey‎, the lender's chief executive, informed fellow directors two months ago that an increase in the volume of complaints about loans made before new rules were introduced in 2014 had triggered a big rise in compensation payouts.

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