Assessment
Funding Circle is used by UK limited companies and LLPs that want to borrow without going to a high street bank. It says it has lent about $24.1B to more than 135,000 businesses. Term loans run from about $13,375 to about $1.0M over up to six years, and it also offers FlexiPay, a line of credit for paying suppliers over 1 to 12 months, a cashback credit card, and asset finance through partners. Its starting rates are published, which puts it at the transparent end of SME lending, and its closest competitors are iwoca, Allica Bank, YouLend, and Liberis.
The company launched in 2010 and is a public company on the London Stock Exchange. Lisa Jacobs, who joined in 2012, has been chief executive since January 2022. In 2025 it extended about $3.28B of credit, grew revenue 28% to about $273.2M, and made a profit before tax of about $27.2M, with 52,700 customers. It guides to revenue of about $314.3M in 2026.
It fits a UK limited company with trading history that wants a quick decision and one lender for loans, supplier payments, and a card. It is a weaker fit for a sole trader, because applications are for limited companies and LLPs, and for a business outside the UK.
Rating by criterion
We score each of the eight criteria out of 100.
Sector criteria
Use it for term loans and short-term cash flow. Loans run from about $13,375 to about $1.0M, shorter loans run up to 12 months, and asset finance through partners goes up to about $6.7M.
Expect a fast answer. Funding Circle says the online form takes 7 minutes, decisions come in as little as 5 minutes, and funds are typically paid within 48 hours.
Check your eligibility without a hard search. A limited company or LLP can get a quote without affecting its credit score, and term loans carry fixed interest rates.
Plan on managing the loan in its own account. Funding Circle is a lender, not a finance tool, and its site describes no accounting software links.
Vendor criteria
The product line keeps widening. It now covers term loans, a government-backed Growth Guarantee Scheme loan, FlexiPay, a cashback card, and asset finance, and both cards work with Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Customers rate the service well. Funding Circle shows a 4.5 out of 5 Trustpilot score from 17,074 reviews on its home page and has a UK-based support team.
Starting rates are public. Term loans are quoted from 6.9% a year, FlexiPay from 1.5% per transaction for a one-month term, and the card from 14.9% with no monthly fee.
Read the fees before you accept. Term loans carry a one-off completion fee, and shorter loans have variable interest.
Against its peers
These are the other companies in lending and credit infrastructure, with their ratings.
User comments
We read the customer stories Funding Circle publishes on its own site to see what borrowers value, and set them against the main limit a borrower meets.
Where customer reviews couldn't be found, our analysts attempted to give a voice to buyer sentiment, drawing on real information from review sites, forums and product documentation.
Based on: Funding Circle, UK home page; Funding Circle, full year 2025 results.
Fact file
| Legal entity | Funding Circle Holdings plc |
|---|---|
| Chief executive | Lisa Jacobs, since January 2022 |
| 2025 revenue | $273.2M, up 28% |
| 2025 profit before tax | $27.2M |
| Credit extended in 2025 | $3.28B |
| Customers | 52,700 at year end 2025 |
Competitive landscape
UK small business lenders a company would compare with Funding Circle.
Funding Circle: 79
- Funding Circle79
- YouLend76
- Liberis74
- Uncapped73
- Capify72
- iwocaNot reviewed
- Allica BankNot reviewed
Comparisons
Key leadership
Lisa Jacobs has been chief executive since January 2022 and joined Funding Circle in 2012 as chief strategy officer. Tony Nicol has been chief financial officer since January 2025.
How this review was created
This profile gives our own assessment of Funding Circle to companies selecting a Lending & credit infrastructure provider. The Fintech Index receives nothing for featuring a firm, for sponsorship, or for advertising, and Funding Circle gave us no payment for the profile.
The rating equals the average of eight criteria, with every criterion running from 0 to 100. Four address buyer needs in this sector, and four address the company together with its commercial terms.
Ratings are our editorial judgment, made from public information: pricing and legal pages, product documentation, compliance disclosures, public reviews and filings. Fact-checking took place on October 30, 2026. Figures reported in pounds were converted to US dollars at the Federal Reserve H.10 rate of $1.3375 per pound on October 23, 2026.
Source pages
- Funding Circle UK home page: https://www.fundingcircle.com/uk/ (As of October 30, 2026)
- Funding Circle full year 2025 results: https://corporate.fundingcircle.com/media/newsroom/full-year-2025-results (As of October 30, 2026)
- Funding Circle leadership: https://corporate.fundingcircle.com/about-us/our-leadership (As of October 30, 2026)
- Funding Circle CEO transition, 2021: https://corporate.fundingcircle.com/media/newsroom/funding-circle-announces-ceo-transition (As of October 30, 2026)
- Funding Circle investor site: https://corporate.fundingcircle.com/ (As of October 30, 2026)
Att Pynta, furniture brand, London / Funding Circle home page / retrieved October 30, 2026