Funding Circle open for business as it signs up to the government’s SME Finance Charter

Funding Circle open for business as it signs up to the government’s SME Finance Charter.

Funding Circle, the leading small business loans platform in the UK, has today committed to the SME Finance Charter, a new government initiative aimed at supporting SMEs through Brexit and beyond. 

The announcement builds on Funding Circle’s goal to help as many small businesses as possible access the finance they need to grow and open up new ways for investors to support them. 

Small Business Minister Kelly Tolhurst said:

Financial support from lenders is often crucial to the success of an SME. So it is great to see Funding Circle reaffirming support for their business customers through our new SME Finance Charter.

Funding Circle’s commitments of continued and proactive support will give their SME customers the confidence they need ahead of Brexit on 31 October and beyond with opportunities to thrive, grow and scale up in new markets.

Lisa Jacobs, UK Managing Director of Funding Circle said: 

We’re excited to sign-up to the government’s SME Finance Charter. No matter the terms on which the UK leaves the EU, Funding Circle will remain open for business. We have investors who are ready to lend to small businesses across all corners of the UK.

Funding Circle’s 5 commitments to the SME Finance Charter

• We're open for business and ready to lend: we only do small business loans and have thousands of investors ready to lend. We say ‘yes’ to a business every 5 minutes, and have already lent over £5 billion to 52,000 British businesses
• We'll help you prepare for Brexit and beyond: we're committed to helping small businesses thrive beyond Brexit. Use our Brexit Checklist and round-up of the best resources to help your business prepare
• We'll support your application and signpost other options if needed: we’ll aim to give you a decision on your loan application within 24 hours. If we can’t help, we’ll try to recommend other lenders who can
• We'll treat you fairly at all times: we assess each application fairly to give you the best rate we can for your business, and if you change your mind we won’t charge a fee for repaying your loan early in full. we’re committed to providing excellent customer service and meeting the FCA’s Principles including Treating Customers Fairly
• We'll work with the government-owned British Business Bank to support SMEs: we’ve worked with the British Business Bank since 2013, helping them to lend more than £250 million to thousands of small businesses across the UK

Founded in 2010, Funding Circle has opened up the small business loans asset class to a diverse range of investors. By lending directly to SMEs, investors are powering economic growth whilst earning an attractive, risk-adjusted return. In 2018 alone, lending through Funding Circle contributed £6.5 billion to the global economy (measured in gross value added) and unlocked 115,000 jobs across the UK, US, Germany and the Netherlands.*

ENDS

For more information

press@fundingcircle.com / +44 (0) 203 667 2245

NOTES TO EDITORS

*Oxford Economics, The Big Business of Small Business, April 2019

About Funding Circle

Funding Circle (LSE: FCH) is a global SME loans platform, connecting SMEs who want to borrow with investors who want to lend in the UK, US, Germany and the Netherlands. Since launching in 2010, investors across Funding Circle's geographies - including more than 90,000 retail investors, banks, asset management companies, insurance companies, government-backed entities and funds - have lent more than £7.5 billion to over 72,000 businesses globally.

About the SME Finance Charter 

The SME Finance Charter is a commitment by finance providers to support small businesses in the UK through Brexit and beyond. It consists of five principles which reflect priority areas that the government and finance providers have identified in ensuring that SME finance works effectively.

The Charter was approved by the Business Finance Council, a collaboration between finance providers, business organisations and government. Lisa Jacobs, UK Managing Director of Funding Circle is a member.