FUNDING CIRCLE HOLDINGS PLC (LON:FCH)

Funding Circle Holding plc is a leading UK-based global company that provides an online platform for small and medium sized business to get funding from the investors directly. It was founded in the year 2010 and its headquarters are situated in London, United Kingdom. The company is listed and traded on the London Stock Exchange. It has helped in financing of more than 100,000 small businesses since 2010, and offers its services to small businesses which are powered by machine learning and seamless technology. It has many subsidiaries, which include Funding Circle, Funding Circle Global Partners Limited, Funding Circle Midco Limited, Funding Circle Netherlands B.V., Funding Circle Holdings Employee Benefit Trust, Funding Circle Continental Europe GmbH etc. The platform has a diverse mixture of different types of investors, which include asset managers (which account for 36% of the total investor mix), banks (35%), bond program (12%), retail (11%), national entities (3%), and funds (3%).

The online platform provided by the company helps SMEs to get both secured as well as unsecured loans, working capital, assets for developing their business etc. The company uses state-of-the-art technology, advanced data analytics, and staunch customer service to support the expansion and growth of SMEs. Bespoke customer-centric technology based on machine learning is at the core of the business model of the company.  It employs a skilled and highly qualified team of over 300 professionals across its area of operation, which includes engineers, data scientists, and product and risk managers.

The ultimate goal of the company is to create a high quality and diversified portfolio to maximize the returns for all its stakeholders, and it has opened up a whole new class of assets to the investors, to widen their investment options and help them in achieving sustainable and high returns. The company focuses on SMEs as they are a notable and addressable market, and it has revolutionised the SME lending by enabling small businesses to complete the loan application process in an average time of 6 minutes and get a decision for the same in just 9 seconds, through its Instant Decision lending technology. It now serves approximately 50% of all the UK loans with a target of delivering 80% automated loan decisions in the long run. The online platform provides the borrowers with transparency and competitive pricing, and helps in informed decision making.

Funding Circle Holding plc follows a well-defined framework of corporate governance and aligns itself with the UK Corporate Governance Code. The board of the company has set up separate committees for audit, remuneration, and nomination etc. It has an ethical code of conduct for running its business operations and promotes a culture of trust, transparency, and accountability. Apart from fulfilling all its corporate responsibilities, the company also fulfils its environmental and social responsibilities. It has a comprehensive Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) framework in place and complies with international best practices and guidelines to create a sustainable business. It aims to minimize the impact of its business activities on the environment and create long-term value for the business as well as the wider community.