Growth Street gains FCA approval as it ups borrowing limits
PEER-TO-PEER business lender Growth Street has been granted full authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
The London-based platform launched in 2015 and had been operating as an appointed representative of Resolution Compliance but is now its own regulated entity.
The firm also announced on Tuesday that it has started accepting applications from businesses looking to borrow up to £2m, up from the previous maximum limit of £1m.
Growth Street’s added that it has now matched £150m of investor funds with small business borrowers as of the end of the first quarter of 2018.
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“We’re delighted to be fully authorised and regulated by the FCA,” Greg Carter (pictured), chief executive of Growth Street, said.
“It’s a great vote of confidence in our security and transparency as a business.
“We have long advocated for more transparency and better regulation in this industry, so the more companies being directly approved by the FCA in this largely unregulated space, the better.
“That we’re able to double our previous maximum limit is a great endorsement of the calibre of businesses we have been speaking to in recent weeks and months.”
The platform is targeting key sectors of the UK such as manufacturing, wholesale and professional services as well as regions where it believes small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are underserved.
Last year it separately pledged to channel £50m to SMEs in the Midlands.