Funding Circle operates an online lending platform that originates small business loans across the UK, US, Germany, and the Netherlands. The company combines risk-management policies and technology to connect institutional and retail investors with established, creditworthy SMB borrowers. In the US it has originated loans to more than 14,000 businesses whose borrowers average 11 years in business and $1.4 million in annual sales. US cumulative originations total $2 billion with $1 billion of loans under management; globally since its 2010 launch more than 72,000 small businesses have borrowed $10.2 billion. Investors on the platform include over 90,000 retail investors as well as banks, asset managers, insurance companies, and government-backed entities. Funding Circle emphasizes providing diversified funding to underserved small businesses and expanding institutional access to the asset class. Funding Circle, launched in 2010 and led by CEO and co-founder Samir Desai, operates an online lending platform that matches small businesses who want to borrow with investors who want to lend. The company combines risk management and technology to facilitate lending to small businesses in the UK, US and Europe. Funding Circle has facilitated over $3 billion in lending to more than 25,000 businesses. Its investor base includes some 60,000 individuals, local and national governments, the European Investment Bank and financial institutions such as pension funds. The company is based in London and San Francisco and intends to use new capital to continue to expand operations. To date it has raised $373m in equity funding. Funding Circle operates a London-based marketplace that originates loans to UK small businesses. Since launching in 2010, it has facilitated more than £1.3 billion of loans to about 16,000 UK businesses. The platform originates loans through its marketplace for business loans. Its recent partnership with the European Investment Bank will see EIB funding deployed through that marketplace. Funding Circle is also contributing £25 million from its SME Income Fund to the initiative. The partnership is intended to enable over £200 million of new loans to UK small businesses over seven years. Funding Circle operates an online marketplace matching small-business borrowers with investors, charging borrowers 2–5% and charging lenders about 1% annually for servicing. Launched in 2010 and active in the U.K. and U.S., it has around 40,000 investors and is on target to facilitate $1 billion in loans this calendar year. The platform targets established "main street" businesses (average eight years trading, >$1M revenue) and reports roughly a 2% annual loan default rate, with investors seeing average returns of about 7% in the U.K. and 10% in the U.S. Interest rates on loans range from roughly 6% to 20%. Financially, Funding Circle reported £5.3M revenue in 2013 (up from £1.9M in 2012) and a £5.3M pre-tax loss in 2013. The company says most of the $65M it raised the prior summer remains on the balance sheet and plans to use investment for marketing and geographic expansion. Funding Circle is an online marketplace for business loans that enables investors to directly lend to small businesses in the UK and the US. Launched in 2010 by Samir Desai, the platform allows UK businesses to borrow between £5,000 and £1 million and US borrowers to seek $25,000 to $500,000. Investors on the platform include thousands of individuals, the British Business Bank, local councils, financial organisations and the University of Huddersfield, and accredited investors and institutions participate in the US marketplace. To date the company has facilitated more than $850 million in loans to about 8,000 small businesses globally. Victory Park Capital has provided an up to $420M lending facility to Funding Circle to finance loans to small businesses in the UK and US over the next three years, with funding to be invested across all risk bands under Funding Circle’s credit criteria. Victory Park Capital was an early institutional partner to Funding Circle in the US and has been active in marketplace lending since 2010, making over $2.2 billion of investments and commitments across platforms and geographies.

Total raised

$1.2B

Funding rounds

11

Latest round

Debt Financing

Latest activity

Jan 2020