Funding Circle lends £200m to SMEs

Through offering peer to peer loans exclusively to business borrowers Funding Circle said it had helped over 3,000 businesses access the finance they need to grow and expand.

Of the £200m total, £130m was lent out in 2013 alone, creating an estimated 6,150 jobs across the country.

The record week for lending was in December 2013, when £5.3m made its way to businesses across the UK in just seven days.

The growth has led to independent estimations that Funding Circle could account for between 10%-20% of the small business lending market in the next ten years.

Laura McMullen, business development director at Funding Circle, said: “Over the last three years, Funding Circle has provided businesses with a faster, more efficient way of accessing the finance they need.

“What we are seeing now is not just the emergence of a challenger model but a fundamentally better method of borrowing and lending that will continue to grow in importance over the coming years.

“Brokers continue to be instrumental in our growth. We have seen a threefold increase in the number of brokers we have relationships within the last year and we hope to continue to grow this in 2014.”

Independent research has shown that 77% of businesses that have borrowed through us would come back to us first, over traditional sources of finance.

Launched in August 2010, Funding Circle enables financial advisers and their business clients to access finance independent of the banks, whilst at the same time allowing British people to earn attractive, stable returns for the long-term.

This process sidesteps the high street banks with businesses receiving finance in a matter of days compared to up to three months for a traditional bank loan.

To date, more than £200m of loans have been lent to small businesses across the UK. To be eligible, businesses must have a minimum turnover of £100,000 and have been trading for at least two years.