Funding Circle, a leading lending platform for small businesses, today announced that Sean Glithero will join the company as its new global Chief Financial Officer. This appointment follows a record-breaking first half of 2017 for Funding Circle with approximately £800 million lent to 8,000 businesses across the UK, US, Germany and the Netherlands, with the UK business profitable.
“Over the last seven years, Funding Circle has cemented its place as the leading platform for small business loans globally,” opined Glithero. “Similar to Auto Trader, their business model is digital and data-led and they have a collaborative culture for delivering the best results for their employees, customers and investors. I am looking forward to joining the team and supporting the business as it continues to build on its market-leading position.”
Glithero will join Funding Circle from Auto Trader, the UK’s largest digital automotive marketplace where he was Chief Financial Officer. He joined Auto Trader in 2006 and has held various group and divisional roles within the business. He was appointed Chief Financial Officer in September 2012.
“Our ambition is to build a better financial world by revolutionising the financial system and securing a better deal for everyone,” added Funding Circle CEO and co-founder Samir Desai. “Sean’s experience will be invaluable as we continue on the journey to creating a category-defining global company, helping thousands of small businesses access finance and create jobs, while providing investors with attractive stable returns on their investments.”
Today’s news comes as Funding Circle announced record-breaking lending figures for the first half of 2017 and with the UK business profitable during this time. Global lending increased by 80% to approximately £800 million during the first half of 2017. Highlights for this period included a £82 million equity capital raise, led by Accel, a £40 million lending commitment from the British Business Bank, a £142 million C Share placement by the Funding Circle SME Income Fund and FCA authorisation in the UK.
Funding Circle recently expanded its U.S. leadership team by appointing Joanna Karger as U.S. Head of Capital Markets and Richard Stephenson as U.S. Chief Compliance Officer.
Launched in 2010, the Funding Circle model has opened up small business lending to a wide range of investors, including 60,000 individuals, local and national government, the European Investment Bank and financial institutions such as pension funds. By improving competition in the market and reducing dependency on bank lending, Funding Circle notes the the platform has been helping small businesses to boost their local economies and communities through much needed job creation. More than £3 billion has been lent to businesses globally, benefitting over 32,000 small business owners and creating more than 80,000 new jobs. By bringing together industry leading risk management and cutting edge technology, creditworthy businesses typically access the capital they need in days rather than months.
