Our very own peer-to-peer (P2P) sector of crowdfunding attracted easily the most money in £2 billion-plus worth of venture capital for SME and start-up raises in 2015, reports Bloomberg.
“Growing peer-to-peer lending and online money transfer services helped raise a record $3.6 billion in venture capital funding for the U.K.’s technology sector last year, according to data compiled by London & Partners.
The largest single investment in the industry was attracted by London-based small-business lending platform Funding Circle, which raised £150m in April, led by DST Global. Other companies with sizable investments included lending service Zopa and money transfer services TransferWise and WorldRemit. The report defines technology as Internet, computer hardware & services, software and mobile & telecommunications companies.
According to the data, half of all venture capital investments into London’s tech sector originated in the U.K., followed by the U.S. (29 percent), Israel (4 percent) and Germany (2 percent). Index Ventures was cited as the most active of these investors, alongside Accel Partners, Balderton Capital, 83North and Hoxton Ventures.”
We have a number of new loans in the pipeline – and some exciting company announcements coming up. Watch this space.
In the meantime, you can join the crowd now. Money&Co. has facilitated loans of around £7 million to SMEs since the launch of our website in April 2014. Our registered lenders have averaged gross yields of over 9 per cent since launch.
Entrepreneurs and SMEs looking to borrow from Money&Co. should click here. Facts and tips about crowdfunding in general are available by reading our knowledge hub, here.
To learn more about getting good returns on capital potential lenders should click here. Remember, when lending your capital is at risk – please read the warnings on our Home, Lend and Frequently Asked Questions pages.