• Subscribe
  • Contact Us
  • About LendIt Fintech News
  • Home
  • Menu Item
  • Menu Item
  • Menu Item
  • Menu Item

Lend Academy

LendIt Fintech News: Daily Coverage of Fintech & Online Lending


  • Editorial
  • Daily News
  • Podcast
  • Investor Forum
  • Events

Funding Circle Kicks Off 2017 With $100M Equity Round

Funding Circle has closed a large financing round which is the largest for a European Fintech since April 2015.

January 11, 2017 By Ryan Lichtenwald 1 Comment

Views: 9

Funding_Circle_Logo

Today, Funding Circle announced that they have closed on a $100 million equity round. The round was led by Accel with participation from existing investors Baillie Gifford, DST Global, Index Ventures, Ribbit Capital, Rocket Internet, Sands Capital Ventures, Temasek and Union Square Ventures. In total, Funding Circle has now raised $373 million.

According to the release, Funding Circle UK had 90 percent year over year growth in Q4 and is now profitable. Lending in Q4 2016 was approximately $485 million. Another vote of confidence came just a week ago when it was announced that the British Business Bank (a state owned entity) was investing an additional £40 million on the platform to support small businesses. The bank had previously committed £60 million, invested over the last several years.

CEO and Co-Founder of Funding Circle Samir Desai stated:

Funding Circle is changing the financial landscape for small businesses and investors globally, ensuring a better deal for everyone and helping to create a more sustainable and fairer economy. Today’s news is the next step on our journey to create a category-defining company that helps thousands of small businesses access finance and create jobs. Over the next 12 months, lending through the Funding Circle platform will create a further 50,000 new jobs, supporting economic growth in the UK, US and continental Europe.

Harry Nelis, Partner at Accel highlighted that this investment makes Funding Circle the largest and best capitalized SME lending platform in the world.

Conclusion

This new round is a testament to what the team at Funding Circle has built. While it has been widely reported that VC funding has dried up over the last year we still have seen some deals get done. Clearly the easy money is gone but I think what this round and several others show is that investors still believe in companies in this industry, particularly the ones built to last. Funding Circle is one of few of a platforms that have been able to get to profitability and they are certainly one to watch out for in 2017.

Filed Under: Peer to Peer Lending Tagged With: Equity Round, Funding Circle

Views: 9

Comments

  1. Glenn Blackman says

    June 1, 2017 at 5:33 am

    An enormous amount of liquidity being added to the market that will benefit SMEs.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Investor Intelligence

Peter Renton's Returns

Investor Forum

Lending Club Review

Prosper Review

Investor Resources

Most Popular Editorials

The Pure Marketplace Lending Model is Dead, the Hybrid Takes its Place

The 2018 Lending Club and Prosper Tax Guide

My Returns at Lending Club and Prosper

Map of Available States for Lending Club and Prosper Investors

Banks and Marketplace Lending Platforms: Ideal Partners?

Subscribe to the Podcast

Subscribe to the Lend Academy Podcast on iTunes
Subscribe to the Lend Academy Podcast
List of Podcast Episodes

Archives

Follow @LendAcademy Follow @LendIt

ABOUT LENDIT FINTECH NEWS

LendIt Fintech News, Powered by Lend Academy, has been bringing you all the news and information about fintech and online lending since 2010 when it was founded by Peter Renton. We not only have the industry’s most active news site, but also the largest investor forum and the first and most popular podcast.

We are a team of fintech enthusiasts who have been covering the industry for many years. With a deep knowledge of online lending, digital banking, blockchain, artificial intelligence and more our team covers the daily news and writes in-depth editorials.

Recent Editorials

  • Fintechs Saved PPP and Should Be Included in the State Small Business Credit Initiative
  • Top 10 Fintech News Stories for the Week Ending March 6, 2021
  • Podcast 288: Leigh Phillips of SaverLife
  • The MLA and OLPI Merge to Form the American Fintech Council
  • Marcus Co-Founder Leaving for New Walmart Fintech Initiative

Copyright © 2021 · Metro Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in