Starling Bank and Funding Options decided to join forces and help SME’s with their recovery in 2021.
Funding Options was founded in 2011 and describes itself as a “data-driven marketplace for business finance that endeavors to help small-medium enterprises (SMEs) secure the funds needed to thrive”.
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With about 120 lending partners, Funding Options has helped raise approximately £500m between 10,000 businesses in the UK and the Netherlands.
The digital bank Starling recently announced a plan in which it is going to hold 18% of the SME banking market in five years, Insider reported.
The current share of the small business market is around 4.4%. However, CEO Anne Boden believes the company will be able to capture even more business customer thanks to her experience and the technology Starling provides.
“By forming lending partnerships with credit brokers such as Funding Options, Starling is making it easier for small businesses to get access to the funds they need to survive, grow and flourish,” said Helen Bierton, Chief Banking Officer.
Stuart Lawson, CRO at Funding Options said: “This partnership with Starling Bank is yet another strong signal to business owners that Funding Options will do everything to drive competition in the SME lending market and champion business growth by offering fair, cost-effective and competitive choice.”
An analysis from 2020 by McKinsey shows that SMEs represent 50% of the total UK economy.
During the pandemic Starling has managed to give out £1.4bn in bounceback loans. About 66% of the recipients were based outside of London. For example, Scottish business customers of Starling received around £67m in such loans.
