Danish billionaire to anchor £2bn float of p2p lender Funding Circle
Billionaire Anders Povlsen – a stakeholder in fashion retailer Asos and City broken Numis – has agreed to anchor an up to £2bn floatation of the peer-to-peer lender Funding Circle.
The Danish tycoon has agreed to buy a minimum 10 per cent of shareholding into Funding Circle during its floatation this autumn, when it plays to sell approximately £300m in new shares.
Funding Circle is the leading small business platform in several markets, including the UK and US. Its floatation date is expected to be announced within the next fortnight, and is anticipated to be the largest so far in a wave of British fintech unicorns – companies with a $1bn (£0.77m) valuation.
A spokesperson for Funding Circle confirmed the arrangement, but declined to comment further.
Read more: Billionaire Anders Povlsen to back p2p lender Funding Circle IPO
Since 2010, it has matched funding from lenders to tens of thousands of small business owners, operating on a model of rapid and flexible financing that competes with mainstream banks. In total, it has made loans to a value in excess of £5bn, £1bn of which occured in the first half of this year alone.
It is chaired by Andrew Learoyd, formerly of Goldman Sachs, and led by Samir Desai, formerly an executive at Olivant, one of its founders.
Povlsen, one of the most wealthy people in Scandinavia, is also one of Britain’s biggest landowners. His holdings include part of Klarna, the Swedish payments company, and the clothing company Bestseller, which includes brands such as Jack & Jones.