A call to Pepper Group's co-chief Mike Culhane from Highbury Partnership's Matthew Roberts in early 2014 sparked Project Habanero – a reference to the world's hottest chilli – which culminated in the $470 million launch of the lender and loan servicer on the ASX in July 2015.

Culhane, his fellow head Patrick Tuttle and their board questioned the logic at first. Pepper was a profitable private company and a rare non-bank lender that managed to survive the financial crisis.