Funding Circle shares surge after positive third quarter update

Peer-to-peer business lender Funding Circle Holdings updated the market on the three months ended 30 September on Monday, reporting a 31% rise in loans under management year-on-year to £3.7bn.

The London-listed firm said year-to-date total originations totalled £1.8bn, compared to £1.6bn for the same period last year, which was an improvement of 9%.

It said its projected annualised returns for 2019 continued to show an improvement over recent years.

In July in the United Kingdom, Funding Circle noted that it completed a £232m asset-backed securitisation transaction, adding nine new institutional investors onto the platform in the country.

Over in the United States in August, the company closed a $198m (£152.5m) securitisation, which was its first asset-backed securitisation of US small business loans, adding 18 new institutional investors onto the platform in the market.

The board said its guidance for 2019 remained unchanged, with its performance said to be on track to meet market expectations.

“In the third quarter, loans under management reached £3.7bn and projected returns for 2019 continued to show an improvement over recent years,” said founder and chief executive officer Samir Desai.

“In what remains an uncertain economic environment we continue to manage the business prudently, which we are confident is the right course of action for the long-term growth and development of our business.”

As at 1125 BST, shares in Funding Circle were 13.12% at 116.51p.