The most anticipated fintech IPO in the UK is finally going to happen. Yesterday, small business lender Funding Circle filed...
The second Funding Circle securitization comprises of a £207m portfolio of small business loans issued by investment trust P2P Global...
One of the co-founders of Funding Circle USA is stepping down and will become Chairman. Source
The online lender has named Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Numis Corp to work on their upcoming IPO; the IPO is currently slated for the second or third quarter which may value the company around $2 billion; if successful it would be the largest IPO for a British fintech company; Index Ventures, Union Square Ventures and Accel Partners were early investors in the company. Source
City A.M. recently visited Funding Circle’s offices and highlights the stark differences from other financial institutions; the company has a relaxed office with various games typical at many startups; as the company has grown they have made sure to maintain a healthy culture which empowers employees to make decisions and be creative; Funding Circle’s co-founder James Meekings discusses workplace culture, the problems they are solving for small businesses and some of the early challenges the company when they lacked data for underwriting. Source
Bank partnerships take many forms and there many examples today of win-win relationships between banks and fintechs. Earlier this...
UK based Funding Circle recently signaled they were looking to go public this year and now investors are wondering is this the start of a UK fintech IPO trend; rumors have swirled around Zopa, LendInvest, Monzo and others, but thus far not many have gone forward with a listing; there is concerns over the ability of the businesses to make a profit and have lessons been learned from U.S. fintech IPOs; while there has been a few small listing thus far time will tell whether or not the big fintech firms will make the leap. Source.
Back in the early days of marketplace lending there was a company called Endurance Lending Network. They were one of...
Funding Circle led originations for the month with 125 million Euros; total originations for the month were 454 million Euro across the platforms tracked; Mintos and Twino both reached significant milestones originating 500 million and 250 million Euros respectively. Source
According to The Times, sources say Funding Circle is in no hurry to do an IPO, but if the markets continue to be favorable they may go public in the second half of the year; article also shares the potential in their US business where they have much less brand awareness compared to the UK; there are some concerns from clients and investors that the company has not yet been through a recession as they look at an IPO; Funding Circle currently has 850 employees and last raised £82 million at a £990 million valuation. Source