Global expansion leaves £36m loss on Funding Circle's accounts
UK fintech unicorn and peer-to-peer lending platform, Funding Circle, is expected to post a full-year loss of £36m this week, as profits have been eroded by its expansion into Europe and the US. However, revenues rose 140% from £13m to £32m in 2015 and the company said it expects its UK business to be profitable in Q4 2016 and "generate significant cashflow in 2017 to finance international operations." The company has lent more than £1.5bn to small and mid-sized businesses since its founding in 2010.

Funding Circle: Global expansion almost doubles losses at fintech unicorn and peer-to-peer lender Funding Circle

Losses have almost doubled at fintech unicorn and lending platform Funding Circle, City A.M. understands.

The peer-to-peer lending group is set to post a full-year loss of £36m when it publishes its accounts on Tuesday, after expanding into Europe and the US ate into profits.

However, revenues at the firm, which was founded in 2010 and has lent more than £1.5bn to small and mid-sized businesses, rose 140 per cent from £13m to £32m last year.

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“We are pleased with the performance of the Funding Circle Group in 2015 which is in line with targets set at the beginning of the year,” said chief executive Samir Desai. “We expect our UK business to be profitable in the fourth quarter of 2016 and to generate significant cashflow in 2017 to finance international operations.”

In 2015 the company raised $150m (£116m) of new equity for the business and listed the first and only single platform investment trust – the £150m Funding Circle SME Income Fund – on the London Stock Exchange.

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Funding Circle is the third biggest lender for small businesses in the UK, behind only RBS and Lloyds.

It passed the milestone of lending £1bn in December last year and in April was the first lender to bring securitisation to the peer-to-peer market with backing from the European Investment Fund, and KfW, a German government-backed bank.