The Irish P2P finance platform is celebrating a record quarter after providing more than €8.6m (approximately £7.5m) in funding across 174 loans.

The platform – which has over 18,000 lenders – has provided more than 1,400 loans to businesses across the country.

Linked Finance’s popularity has increased since its launch, with loan origination more than doubling each year.

In 2017, more than €24m (approximately £21m) in loans were provided through the platform, almost 30 times the first year’s performance.

Peter O’Mahony, founder of Linked Finance, said that when he started the platform, he wanted to make it easier for hard-working Irish business owners to access the funds needed to grow and drive the economy forward.

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“Five years later, it’s brilliant to see the long list of great, local businesses who have benefited.

“I’m delighted with the growing popularity of the platform and the many ways in which Linked Finance is making it easier for Irish SMEs to access credit.

“It’s a real testament to the power of technology and its ability to connect people and solve problems.”

Niall Dorrian, CEO at Linked Finance, added that it was fantastic to look back at the progress the platform had made.

“I’m really encouraged to see the growth we have achieved in recent years and the way P2P is now a well-established funding source for SMEs.

“Our ultimate goal is to make Linked Finance the biggest source of non-bank funding to SMEs in Ireland and that’s what we will be working towards in the next five years.”