Beehive, a Dubai-based online lending platform for small and medium-sized businesses, said on July 1, 2026 that it had completed the purchase of a majority stake in Themar, a Saudi debt crowdfunding platform licensed by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA). The stake was bought by Beehive Group Holdings Limited and covers Themar Al Aamal Commercial Company LLC, the holding company that owns the licensed crowdfunding business.
Terms were not disclosed. The announcement did not give a price, the size of the stake beyond describing it as a majority and controlling holding, or what happens to the minority shareholders.
Beehive said the deal makes it the first digital SME financing platform regulated in three Gulf Cooperation Council markets: the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Saudi Arabia. Themar's licensed platform becomes the vehicle for Beehive's Saudi operations, which until now ran through partnerships with banks.
What Themar does
Themar describes itself as a Saudi-based, SAMA-licensed debt crowdfunding platform that connects investors with growing businesses. Small companies borrow through the platform, and individual and institutional investors fund the loans. Its boilerplate says it was set up to support entrepreneurs and small businesses and to let investors take part through a regulated channel.
The licensed entity is named in the release as Themar Al Aamal for Crowdfunding Company CJSC, and elsewhere as Themar Al Aamal for Crowdlending Company CJSC. Some regional trade outlets spelled the name Thimar or called it Themar Business Company. The release did not say when Themar was founded, how much it has lent, or how many people it employs.
Yousef H. Al Dabbagh, a co-founder of Themar, said in the release that Beehive would bring regional scale, technology and institutional relationships to Saudi businesses, and that the combined company would be a stronger regulated platform for small companies in the kingdom.
“With Themar, we are moving from a partnership-led presence to a regulated platform in the Kingdom, giving us a stronger foundation to scale access to financing for Saudi SMEs.”
Why Beehive is buying
Beehive has been active in Saudi Arabia since 2020, but through banking partners rather than under its own licence. Buying a controlling stake in an already licensed platform gives it its own regulated presence in the country.
"With Themar, we are moving from a partnership-led presence to a regulated platform in the Kingdom, giving us a stronger foundation to scale access to financing for Saudi SMEs," Peter Tavener, Beehive's co-founder and group CEO, said in the release. He called Saudi Arabia one of the most dynamic small-business markets in the region.
Beehive also said it wants to set up a funding facility in Saudi Arabia similar to the structured arrangement it has with Goldman Sachs and Magellan Capital in the UAE, which would give it more capital to lend to Saudi companies. It did not give a size or timetable for that facility.
Beehive's track record
Beehive was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Dubai. It runs a marketplace where businesses that need finance are matched with investors who fund them, and it presents itself as a faster and cheaper alternative to bank lending for small companies in the Gulf.
The company said the Themar deal coincided with a milestone of more than 3,000 small and medium-sized businesses financed across the GCC since its launch. In the UAE its lending arm, Beehive P2P Limited, is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority, and Beehive says it was the first digital SME funding platform in the Middle East and North Africa regulated by the DFSA. In Oman, Beehive Financial Technology SPC is regulated by the country's Financial Services Authority.
One regional outlet, MENA Startup Digest, attributed comments on the deal to Craig Moore as Beehive's co-founder and CEO, while the company's own release quoted Peter Tavener as co-founder and group CEO.
Policy push behind SME lending
Both companies tied the deal to Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 economic plan, which sets goals for expanding financing to small businesses, increasing private-sector activity and diversifying the economy away from oil. One report on the deal said it fits the kingdom's push to grow its fintech and alternative finance sector.
The release said the combined company would join Beehive's technology, funding network and lending history with Themar's licence to widen access to regulated financing for Saudi small businesses.
