Funding Circle originations hit record high
FUNDING Circle saw new originations grow by 45 per cent in the third quarter of this year globally, as it revealed its UK broker channel has facilitated more than £1bn of lending.
The newly-listed peer-to-peer business lender, which has operations in the UK, US and continental Europe, said that its investors funded a record £564m of new loans in the third quarter and £1.6bn in the year to 30 September 2018.
Of the £1.6bn, £1.08bn of originations were in the UK, £540m in the US, £78m in Germany and £56m in the Netherlands.
Its third-quarter update showed its global loanbook has reached £2.8bn, which excludes property loans.
UK investors have so far received 9.8 per cent of gross interest this year, compared with 13 per cent in the US, 10 per cent in February and 11.9 per cent in the Netherlands, Funding Circle said.
Projected bad debts for the year to date are highest in the US, in the range of 4.4 per cent to 6.4 per cent, compared with 2.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent in the UK.
“The business continues to deliver our growth strategy and we remain focused on building Funding Circle for the long term,” Samir Desai (pictured), chief executive of Funding Circle, said.
Meanwhile, Funding Circle separately announced that its UK broker channel has funded £1bn of loans to 9,600 businesses.
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“Working with brokers is, and always has been, a hugely important part of our business,”
Tom Shave, head of broker UK at Funding Circle, said.
“Reaching £1bn lent through the broker channel is an incredibly exciting milestone as it means that we’ve helped thousands of small businesses to fund their growth ambitions.
“ I’m looking forward to growing this part of the business even further as we continue on our mission of becoming the first choice for small businesses across the UK.”
Funding Circle’s shares opened at 424p this morning on the London Stock Exchange, still below its listing price of 440p.