Schroders buys stake in Dutch direct lending firm

LONDON, April 4 (Reuters) - British asset manager Schroders said on Monday it had bought a 25 percent stake in Dutch direct-lending firm NEOS Business Finance for an undisclosed sum.

NEOS operates a platform that allows institutional investors to provide debt financing to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through a standardised issuance and loan terms process.

Under the terms of the deal, NEOS will provide investment advisory services to Schroders (LSE: SDR.L - news) for its funds investing in SME financing, Schroders, which manages 313.5 billion pounds ($447.7 billion) in assets, said in a statement.

SMEs were increasingly seeking debt financing from non-bank lenders as commerical banks supply less credit to customers in the face of tough new capital rules, while borrowers wanted faster approvals and lower collateral requirements, said Philippe Lespinard Co-Head of Fixed Income at Schroders.

"These conflicting trends open up a space for non-bank actors to provide growth financing to SMEs on simpler and faster terms," he added. ($1 = 0.7002 pounds) (Reporting by Simon Jessop; Editing by Jon Boyle)