There was much fanfare when Funding Circle listed last September. As the first of the peer-to-peer lenders to float, it was seen as a test case for the burgeoning industry.
The business might have held off a little longer, but streams of private cash from venture capitalists and Japan’s SoftBank were showing signs of slowing.
Despite having been hyped while in private hands, Funding Circle slashed its price range for the float. The shares still started at the low end — 440p — on its first day of trading, valuing the company at £1.5bn.
Peer-to-peer platforms allow users to lend money to companies through a website in exchange for interest payments. Zopa was the first when it launched in 2005, followed by Funding Circle, the