If you look more broadly than marketplace lending and look at what is happening across the fintech world, you see large amounts of cash being invested into various companies. Of interest is a recent article from CBR online that highlights the 10 biggest UK fintech fundraising rounds. This list is dominated by the marketplace lenders including MarketInvoice, RateSetter, LendInvest and the biggest of them all, Funding Circle. It’s apparent that this industry is at the center of fintech innovation and investors are taking note.
Although each of these companies is at a different stage, they all have interesting stories. LendInvest’s round was pegged as the largest Series A round in UK fintech so far. Funding Circle raised a £96m round back in April and is estimated to have crossed the $1 billion valuation mark. After becoming one of the major marketplace lenders in the UK, RateSetter went to open business in Australia. Although much earlier on, MarketInvoice has set itself up for success after being in business for 4 years and is now originating $46 million a month.
Other big news coming out of the UK is that p2p lending will be available in ISAs, a topic that will be discussed at LendIt Europe 2015. It will be interesting to see what new announcements are made come October as all of these companies will be attending LendIt. Perhaps one of them will announce plans to go public…
