Technology

Posted on September 3, 2018 by staff

Funding Circle to raise £300m in London float

Technology

Peer-to-peer lending platform Funding Circle has unveiled plans to pursue an initial public offering (IPO) and raise £300 million in capital.

Launched in 2010, Funding Circle is a small and medium enterprise (SME) loans platform operating in the UK, US, Germany and the Netherlands.

By connecting SMEs looking for finance directly with investors, the company claims to have facilitated more than £5 billion in loans to over 50,000 SMEs from 80,000 investors.

“At Funding Circle our mission is to build a better financial world,” said co-founder and CEO Samir Desai. “Today’s announcement is the start of the next stage in our exciting and transformational journey.

“Over the last eight years, we have worked hard to build a platform that is number one in every market we operate in.

“By combining cutting-edge technology with our own proprietary credit models and sophisticated data analytics, we deliver a better deal for small businesses and investors around the world.

“I am very proud of the team and culture we have created at Funding Circle, both of which have been integral to our success to date.”

Funding Circle plans to list its shares on the main market of the London Stock Exchange and raise gross proceeds of £300 million.

The company said the float would “further engender trust” in its business with investors, borrowers and regulators and would also increase the group’s profile and brand awareness.

Funding Circle generated revenues of £63 million in the first half of 2018, up from £41 million in the same period in 2017.

Loans under management as at the end of June were more than £2.5bn.

Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are acting as advisers for the IPO.