Private British investors have provided more than £200 million in loans to UK businesses through the Funding Circle in less than three-and-a-half years.
Funding Circle, a UK-based peer-to-peer lending marketplace exclusive to business borrowers, has helped more than 3,000 businesses access the finance needed to grow.
Lending in 2013 alone reached nearly £130 million from investors across the UK. An estimated 6,150 jobs were created as a result.
Laura McMullen, business development director at Funding Circle, told Bridging and Commercial that 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.”
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 be eligible, businesses must have a minimum turnover of £100,000 and have been trading for at least two years.
Visit www.fundingcircle.com for more information.
