The long-expected stock-market flotation of Funding Circle is finally getting underway. Here’s how our friends at P2P Finance news report the news.
FUNDING Circle is readying to hire advisers to prepare for a £1bn-plus float later this year.
The peer-to-peer business lender has reportedly told investment banks that it will hold a beauty parade before the end of the first quarter of 2018, which a London stock market flotation possible as soon as late autumn.
Sky News, which first reported the story, also cited sources that said Funding Circle is likely to comfortably exceed the $1bn (£738m) valuation it hit when it raised £82m of new funding in January, with some existing investors believing the company could be worth as much as £2bn.
But there’s a but… What happens if the flotation price is overinflated? We’ll be blogging on this subject shortly.
Our latest loan offering is more than 69 per cent funded. It has an indicative yield of 9 per cent, and an A rating from our credit-analysis committee.
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Money&Co. Podcast: We asked David Buik of London investment bank, Panmure Gordon, Baroness Susan Kramer, who holds the Treasury brief for the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords, and Money&Co. CEO, Nicola Horlick, for their views of the financial highlights of 2017 and their predictions for 2018. This podcast of over 25 minutes also focuses on the outlook for the UK╒s small and medium-sized companies, the lifeblood of the UK economy – and of course the borrowers who find funding for growth via our platform.
Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending is about bringing individuals seeking a good return on capital together with businesses seeking funds to grow. The average gross return achieved by lenders is 8.6 per cent (7.6 per cent net). This compares with 1.3 per cent, which is the best return currently available on cash deposit with a bank or building society, according to comparison sites such as Moneyfacts. See also risk factors, at the foot of this page.
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Risk: Security, Access, Yield
Do consider not just the return, but the security and the ease of access to your investment.We write regularly about these three key factors. Here’s an earlier article on security, access and yield.
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