Company: Funding Options
CEO: Simon Cureton
Website: https://www.fundingoptions.com/
Description: Funding Options is the leading data-driven marketplace for business finance, helping SMEs get the right funding in place so they can trade, plan and grow with confidence. Led by CEO Simon Cureton, Funding Options has helped over 11,780 businesses across the UK and the Netherlands secure over £650m in funding.
About Funding Options
Funding Options is the leading data-driven marketplace for business finance, helping SMEs get the right funding in place so they can trade, plan and grow with confidence. Led by CEO Simon Cureton, Funding Options has helped over 11,780 businesses across the UK and the Netherlands secure over £650m in funding.
As a marketplace, Funding Options’ core proposition is to act as a matchmaker within the lending ecosystem; helping businesses solve the funding gap through the provision of transparent, genuine comparison of available opportunities for SMEs equipping them with the tools to make informed decisions.
Recognised as a fast-growth scaleup, Funding Options has been nominated in the top half of the FT 1000 for two years consecutively. Whilst also being recognised as Lendtech of the year in the UK Fintech Awards 2021, and part of Silicon Valley Comes to the UK’s 2020 Scale-Up Club cohort.
Since 2017, Funding Options revenue has grown year-on-year – surging from £2.13m to £5.01m in 2019. As with most businesses, Funding Options’ 2021 revenue was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, in the last year, the company has seen an 80% increase in funding applications and achieved its most successful quarter since before the pandemic in Q1 2022.
In April 2021, Funding Options launched Funding Cloud, a single platform connecting businesses, lenders and partners in a frictionless digital journey. Lenders including Funding Circle, iwoca, Marketfinance, Just Cashflow, YouLend, and Optimum Finance have been integrated onto the platform. Powered by Open Banking, data analytics and Artificial intelligence, businesses applying for vital finance can see their application time reduced to just minutes via the platform.
Funding Options is the only ‘true’ marketplace for business finance sending a single application to multiple lenders in real-time. Meaning customers can receive instant funding decisions and, in some cases, pre-approved offers in seconds. Working with a dedicated team to ensure borrowers can make informed decisions and have access to funding quickly and easily, enabling more choice for customers with fair unbiased comparisons.
Through Funding Cloud, the business has reached a record of 20 seconds from loan application to credit approval, with the latest record time from application to funds in the bank being 18 minutes.
In recent years, SMEs have increasingly relied on their accountant for strategic advice, planning, and information on support schemes. Funding Options data reveals SMEs are almost 10 times more likely to be successful with a funding application when they apply via their accountant. Recognising this change, Funding Options launched Funding Cloud. Connect in February 2022 to enable accountants and business advisors to source finance for SMEs on one platform from which they can refer, track and manage client applications.
Through the platform, Funding Options has supported more than 270 accountancy firms including, Cooper Parry, Smith & Williamson and Begbies Traynor in pursuing the right finance options.
Continuing to champion the needs of SMEs, Funding Options launched the first Green Finance marketplace for SMEs in July 2021. Powered by its data-driven Funding Cloud platform, Funding Options’ aim is to ensure green demand is matched with ‘green supply, helping to bring greater transparency and awareness of the funding options available to support sustainability-conscious SMEs. The Green lender panel helps businesses source the right funding to achieve their goals, offering financial rewards and incentives for businesses that actively seek to reduce their carbon footprint.
Since launching in July 2021, Natwest, Lombard, Swishfund and Cambridge & Counties Bank have been onboarded to the green lender panel to help businesses source the right funding to achieve their sustainability goals.
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