Read what the press is saying about Funding Circle.
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Funding Circle not banks will save SMEs
The great disappointment yesterday was that Osborne did not take the opportunity to offer support to groups such as Funding Circle - a new type of organisation which has the potential to replace banks. From a standing start a year ago, Funding Circle is already lending more than a million a month - usually in amounts of £5000 to £100,000 - but with only a fraction of the encouragement given to banks it could do so much more.
Tech gurus pump cash into loans site
Two of the world’s biggest technology investors have backed a £10m fundraising by Funding Circle, a website that allows small firms to lend to one another. Union Square Ventures, which backed Twitter and the online games giant Zynga, has invested in the firm for the first time. Index Ventures, the Swiss-British fund that has backed more than 100 internet start-ups including Skype and online retailer Asos, has piled in more cash. More than 10,000 people have signed up to the platform, where businesses can borrow between £5,000 and £250,000 over one, three or five years.
Most Recent Coverage
Financial Times: Non-bank lending on rise for UK SMEs (11 April)
The British government has thrown its weight behind non-bank lending in an attempt to improve a stagnant market. Peer-to-peer lending is a relatively new concept in the UK that allows individuals – from students to wealthy private investors and hedge funds – to lend to each other and to small businesses. It aims to provide better returns for lenders than from a bank deposit account while offering easier access to credit for borrowers. It is a small sector – only £100m-£200m a year changes hands on these websites – but is growing rapidly. Examples include Funding Circle.
Financial Times: Peer-to-peer lending grows despite risks (10 Apri)
The government is interested in boosting those (peer-to-peer companies) that can provide much-needed funds to UK SMEs. Funding Circle is one of the largest of these, with about £1m loaned to businesses each week,. Samir Desai, chief executive and co-founder, expects to triple this by the end of the year and eventually raise it to £100m a month. “The government has seen how quickly we have grown,” he says. “They are looking at the SME finance landscape and thinking there is not much choice – 90 per cent of lending is done by five banks.”
Growing Business: Funding Circle closes £10m Series B round (07 April)
Funding Circle, an online lending marketplace for small businesses, has closed a £10m Series B funding round led by Index Ventures and US-based Union Square. A number of angel investors, including Better Capital founder Jon Moulton and Betfair co-founder Edward Wray, also made significant investments in the funding round, which takes the total amount invested in Funding Circle thus far to £13.2m.
Archive
2012
Financial Times: Credit must go where it is due (11 Apr)
Financial Times: Specialist lenders see gap in market (10 Apr)
Financial Times: City moves in on peer-to-peer lending (04 Apr)
Sunday Times: Tech gurus pump cash into loans site (01 Apr)
Tech Crunch: Funding Circle, a Kickstarter for SMBs, Picks Up $16M From Index, Union Square Ventures (01 Apr)
Lovemoney: We don't need the banks: why Zopa, RateSetter and Funding Circle are the future of banking (30 Mar)
Huffington Post: Online Dragons Help Fund UK SMEs (29 Mar)
The Times Funding Britain’s Growth (27 Mar)
Reuters: Nervous banks hold back Europe's revival strategy (26 Mar)
The Daily Telegraph: Budget 2012: Betfair founder welcomes lift for SME lending (24 Mar)
Daily Mail: Bank of England man: 'Peer-to-peer to replace High Street banks' (22 Mar)
ITV: News (20 Mar)
BBC South: Our Economy (19 Mar)
BBC Online: Coffee shop owners bypass banks for internet backers (19 Mar)
BBC Radio 5 Live: Drive Time (16 Mar)
BBC Radio 5 Live: Breakfast (to 1:47mins) (16 Mar)
BBC: What threat to banks from internet lenders? (16 Mar)
Reuters: UK small business loans should be pooled - report (16 Mar)
Daily Telegraph: Alternatives to banks needed to close £191bn credit hole (16 Mar)
Yahoo!: Money morals: can you afford to be ethical with your cash? (16 Mar)
Love Money: Money morals: can you afford to be ethical with your cash? (16 Mar)
The Independent: Online lending 'could replace' banks (15 Mar)
Daily Telegraph: Technology could take the bankers out of banking, says BoE policmaker Andy Haldane (14 Mar)
Forbes: Why Crowdfunding Investing Is The Path To Economic Recovery (09 Mar)
Daily Telegraph: Disillusioned bankers turning their backs on the Square Mile (08 Mar)
The Independent: The new way to borrow that's proving a big boon for small fry (05 Mar)
Daily Mail: Funds that back infrastructure projects such as prisons offer a healthy income (03 Mar)
Financial Times: FSB says government must push alternative lenders (27 Feb)
The Economist: On the side of the angels (22 Feb)
Financial Director: Cure ills (22 Feb)
Reuters: Small UK businesses seek crowds as funding alternative (21 Feb)
Chicago Tribune Small UK businesses seek crowds as funding alternative (21 Feb)
The Guardian: 10 ways to improve the return on your savings (18 Feb)
The Times: Money (18 Feb)
Choice Loans: Peer to peer lending goes mainstream (16 Feb)
London Loves Business: SMEs snub high street banks for peer-to-peer lender (16 Feb)
Yahoo: “Why don’t you re-mortgage instead?” - Banks fail small businesses (13 Feb)
Sunday Telegraph: Swap and share: the new ways to make cash (12 Feb)
The Independent: A revolution is brewing in financial services (11 Feb)
BBC Radio 5 Live (scroll to 2hrs 27mins): A revolution is brewing in financial services (10 Feb)
Interactive Investor: Earn 8% on your investment and support the economic recovery at the same time (09 Feb)
Thisismoney: We are a safe place to invest: Angry lend-to-save websites hit back over 'rising risk' claims (02 Feb)
Yahoo!: Freebies in finance: Bribe or a bonus? (01 Feb)
Peterborough Telegraph: Funding deal helps propel growth (17 Jan)
Scotland on Sunday: Social lending offers frustrated savers chance to see cash grow (15 Jan)
Smallbusiness.co.uk: A new era for small business finance (06 Jan)
Financial Times: SME demand for debt falls (06 Jan)
The Telegraph Banks: Small firms' demand for finance falling again (05 Jan)
LA Times: As chances for bank loans shrink, Britain's small firms struggle (03 Jan)
The Independent Beat miserly bank returns by going social (01 Jan)
2011
The Guardian: Ten ways to boost your finances in 2012 (31 Dec)
Start-up.co.uk: Start-ups seek alternative finance in 2012 (29 Dec)
The Scotsman: Ease the squeeze on day-to-day living by cutting your outlays (17 Dec)
Daily Telegraph: Legal General chief Tim Breedon to advise on fund-raising (15 Dec)
Sunday Times: Money Made Easy: Five-minute guide to... Peer-to-peer lending (11 Dec)
Thisismoney.co.uk: Peer-to-peer firm Quakle collapses: How safe is social lending for savers? (07 Dec)
Sunday Times: Profit from the budget for growth (04 Dec)
Financial Times: Kick-start to lending for SMEs under fire (04 Dec)
Evening Standard: Funding Circle not banks will save SMEs (30 Nov)
The Guardian: Small business lending fund to cut borrowing costs (29 Nov)
Financial Times: Private lending grows as banks tighten criteria (24 Nov)
The Independent: As the euro crisis ripples spread, are your savings completely safe? (20 Nov)
The Daily Mirror: Credit Crunch helps former city workers follow business dreams (10 Nov)
The Independent: Funding Circle gets three new angels (10 Oct)
Daily Telegraph: Credit easing scrutinised by 'Beyond the Banks' panel (11 Oct)
The Sunday Times Become a lender and earn 15% (16 Oct)
The Economist: QE Plus (08 Oct)
Financial Times: Finance: Small businesses must look beyond the banks for funding options (27 Sept)
Financial Times: New funds for small business loans website (28 July)
The Independent: Social lending finds favour with older investors (19 June)
The Independent: Social lending: Get better returns and help small firms (28 May)
Daily Telegraph: Fundin Circle expands its small business lending reach (21 Apr)
Love Money: Earn 7.6% on your savings without going near a bank (21 Mar)
Daily Telegraph: Busines owners greet banks with silence at lending summit (04 Mar)
2010
The Guardian: Peer-to-peer lending and saving: Making everyone happy
Daily Telegraph: Peer-to-peer lending: how to choose the right site (21 Dec)
The Sun: Beating the banks (03 Nov)
Thisismoney: Savers' £1m in Funding Circle earns 8% (02 Nov)
Thisismoney: How savers get 9% rates and easy access (06 Oct)
The Economist: Themother of invention (30 Sept)
The Scotsman: Savers' site offers business lifeline (30 Sept)
Daily Mirror: Online social lending scheme Funding Circle could sideline greedy banks (29 Sept)
BBC5live Drive Show: BBC5live Drive Show
BBC News: BBC: Social Lending platforms could be the new terminology we hear, instead of banks
Parliament: Funding Circle discussed in Parliament
Love Money: Pay less when borrowing a loan (05 Sept)
Daily Mail: Who needs banks anyway? (05 Sept)
Love Money: Earn up to 9% on your savings (29 Aug)
The Guardian: Peer-to-peer lending and saving: Making everyone happy (28 Aug)
The Independent: Social lending offers small businesses a lifeline (22 Aug)
The Times: Savers ‘to earn 9%’ lending to small businesses (17 Aug)
Financial Times: Loans boost for small businesses (12 Aug)
Director: Funding Circle offers a populist ethos: the removal of banks from small business lending (24 Aug)
Tech Crunch: Social lending platform Funding Circle launches (16 Aug)
BBC Online: Barclays criticises small business lending targets (13 Aug)
The Independent: Lending cash to others can mean higher rates (05 June)
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