Funding Circle, the UK peer-to-peer lending site for small businesses, has raised £2.5 million in a funding round led by Index Ventures.
The start-up, which launched in August last year, claims to have signed 4000 businesses to the service and facilitated loans up to a total value of £11.5 million. It says investors earn on average 8.3% before fees, tax and bad debts on their money while businesses can borrow more cheaply than at high street banks.
The site was founded by Samir Desai, James Meekings and Andrew Mullinger and has secured backing from Andy Homer, chief executive of Towergate Partnership, and Jon Moulton, the founder of private equity firm Better Capital, among others.
Under the new round - which also included existing investors - Neil Rimer, co-founder and Partner of Index will take a seat on the board.
The company says the money will be used for marketing and product development.