Index et al. inject $65m into Funding Circle

Ellie Pullen
17 July 2014

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Index Ventures has led a $65m series-D funding round for Funding Circle, a UK crowdfunding platform for business loans.

The VC was joined by existing investors Accel Partners, Ribbit Capital and Union Square Ventures.

The fresh capital will be used by Funding Circle to look into potential new international markets, as well as finance the expansion of its product range.

Previous funding
To date, Funding Circle has secured $123m in funding. The company's most recent round took place last October, when it raised $37m in a series-C led by Accel.

The company's series-B round took place in May 2012. Index led the £10m round, with participation from Union Square and investors Charles Dunstone, Ed Wray and Jon Moulton.

Funding Circle's series-A saw the company secure £2.5m in funding in April 2011 from Index.

Company
Founded in 2010 and headquartered in London, Funding Circle operates an online crowdfunding platform for business loans. The average loan amount sits at around £60,000. The company claims to have more than 30,000 active investors registered, which have supplied financing to more than 5,000 businesses.

The company launched its offering in the US at the end of last year and has so far seen a 500% increase in lending to US businesses.

Total lending recently exceeded £300m, Funding Circle claims, with £100m lent in the first half of 2014. The company employs more than 100 staff.

People
Samir Desai is the CEO of Funding Circle. In conjunction with the funding round, Perella Weinberg Partners CEO Robert Steel has joined the company's board of directors. Neil Rimer is a partner at Index.