Chancellor Philip Hammond praises “success story” Funding Circle as it announces $100m investment
Chancellor Philip Hammond has praised Funding Circle as a “real success story for British fintech” after the peer-to-peer (P2P) platform announced a new $100m (£82.5m) equity capital.
The funding round was led by Accel Partners and included participation from existing investors Baillie Gifford, DST Global, Index Ventures, Ribbit Capital, Rocket Internet, Sands Capital Ventures, Temasek and Union Square Ventures.
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Globally, investors on the Funding Circle platform lent more than £1.1bn to small businesses in 2016.
“Funding Circle has become a real success story for British fintech and news that it has attracted £80m of investment is further evidence of the growing importance of this industry,” said Hammond.
“This is another vote of confidence in a UK firm that plays an important role in our economy – helping businesses to grow and create jobs.”
Read more: Global expansion almost doubles losses at fintech unicorn Funding Circle
Funding Circle chief executive and co-founder Samir Desai estimated that the platform, through its lending, will create 50,000 new jobs in the UK, US and continental Europe over the next year.
He said: “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.”