Financial news

Funding Circle, a UK SME lending platform, and Atom bank, the UK app-based bank, have joined forces in a lending partnership that will offer up to approximately £150million in funding to small businesses.

The partnership, the third between the two organisations, will support SMEs through the Government-backed Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) offered by Funding Circle.

Atom bank will leverage Funding Circle’s technology and distribution platform to deploy much-needed funds to support UK SMEs, aiding them in managing their finances and fostering growth.

Funding Circle enables small businesses to access funding. SMEs can complete an application in six minutes, receive a decision in as little as nine seconds, and have funds in their account within 24 hours.

“Access to finance remains crucial for small businesses, so we’re delighted to once again be partnering with Atom bank to help more SMEs get the funding they need to win,” says Lisa Jacobs, CEO at Funding Circle.

“The Recovery Loan Scheme is an important way for us to be able to say yes to more businesses in line with our medium-term plan, and we’re continuing to extend our track record of delivering robust and attractive loan returns for our investors, in spite of the changing economic environment.”

Commitment to UK businesses

Chris Storey, chief commercial officer at Atom bank, also commented: “This partnership forms a key part of our ongoing commitment to UK business owners. We have an ambition to support as many SMEs as possible as we scale the bank, and continuing to leverage Funding Circle’s market leading tech provides us with a fantastic way to deliver on that ambition.

“We recently announced our first full year of operating profit, followed by a successful capital raise and securitisation, so Atom is in a particularly strong position to help those firms who may be struggling to access finance. We’ve been supporting businesses through the latest iteration of the Recovery Loan Scheme, so we look forward to now helping even more UK SMEs invest and grow as we move into the new year.”