Edinburgh-based fintech LendingCrowd has closed a funding deal with Barclays Bank and a global investment firm to support SMEs across Britain.   

The funding, worth around £100 million, will be loaned to SMEs across the country via the British Business Bank’s Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS). 

LendingCrowd confirmed it has started to deploy funding to SMEs across Britain, providing individual loans of up to £500,000 over a three, four or five-year term.  

The new funding agreement represents the biggest capital markets deal in LendingCrowd’s eight-year history, with operations expanding and headcount growing by a third to support the initiative. 

Stuart Lunn, Founder and CEO of LendingCrowd, said: “It is hard to imagine a more difficult business environment than the past 18 to 24 months, which has seen many small and medium-sized businesses severely limited in how much they can trade, and trying to operate under rapidly changing restrictions, through no fault of their own. 

“Many of these SMEs are good, solid businesses that desperately need some extra support. However, there remains a significant unmet demand for business lending, particularly in the £250,000 to £500,000 space. It is crucial for businesses, and for our wider economic recovery, that this demand is properly served.”

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Lunn added: “We have invested in our tech-enabled lending platform and, together with our funding partners, we will offer businesses automated checks, faster decisions and competitive rates for small business loans. This saves time and hassle for customers, accountants and intermediaries who support these SME borrowers. 

“The next few years will require a real collective effort to get our economy back on track – at LendingCrowd, we are determined to play our part.”

Founded in 2014, LendingCrowd is a non-bank lender, supporting SMEs across Britain with their funding needs.  

Since its inception, the firm has facilitated approximately 950 loans totalling £87 million, with over £15 million loaned in Scotland.

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