Funding Circle
- π¦Became a unicorn2015
- πPeak valuation$2 Billion β18
- πBecame a Unitard2019
- πΈLast valuation estimate~$540M
The rise & fall
6 moments Β· 2010β2024The key moments, with employee sentiment along the way.
π¬ entries paraphrase anonymous, unverified reviews posted publicly on Glassdoor β; dated facts carry their source.
How it happened
Funding Circle built a marketplace connecting small businesses seeking loans with investors willing to fund them, and was one of the most hyped fintechs of the peer-to-peer lending boom. It floated on the London Stock Exchange in September 2018 at a Β£1.5B valuation, but the shares slid more than 70% within a year as growth slowed, losses mounted and enthusiasm for P2P lending evaporated.
Source: TechCrunch / Euromoney / Yahoo Finance (Β£1.5B IPO Sept 2018, raised Β£300M; shares -72% by July 2019; market cap fell below total equity invested)
Founders
- Samir DesaiCo-founder & CEO who led the 2018 IPO (peak); stepped down as CEO 2021, remains a director
Current roles as self-reported on LinkedIn, retrieved 2026-08-19. See our methodology.
Disclosed investors (19)
Historical funding participation; lists may be incomplete and do not establish current ownership or investor losses.
* Lead in a funding round Β· Crunchbase β Β· 2026-10-13 Β· Methodology Β· Leaderboard
