Funding Circle secures £82m investment

The funding round was led by Accel, with additional contributions from existing investors, including Baillie Gifford, Ribbit Capital and Union Square Ventures.

This latest investment comes less than a week after the firm secured £40m in funding from British Business Bank Investments.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond said: “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.

“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.”

Funding Circle’s recent flurry of investment follows a 90% year-on-year rise in growth during the fourth quarter of 2016.

In the same period, the firm lent approximately £400m to small businesses, bringing its total for 2016 to more than £1.1bn.

Samir Desai, CEO and co-founder of Funding Circle, added: “[This] 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.

“Over the next 12 months, lending through the Funding Circle platform will create a further 50,000 new jobs, supporting economic growth in the UK, US and continental Europe.”