< p>One of the largest peer-to-peer lenders in the market has reached a £100 million lending milestone within the British business economy in less than three years of operation.

Funding Circle, which launched in 2010 exclusively for business borrowers, released the figures yesterday which show a year-on-year growth of more than 200 per cent.

Of the £100 million, £50 million has been lent out by British people since September 2012, a figure which has led to some estimations claiming Funding Circle could account for between 10 – 20 per cent of the small business lending market over the coming decade.

In particular, the company that’s growth has tripled on a year-on-year basis, managed to lend as much as £10 million, in just 30 days of practice.

Speaking about this success, James Meekings, co-founder of Funding Circle, said: “British people across the country are increasingly cutting out the middleman by assuming the role of the banks and lending directly to ambitious British businesses.
 
“The fact that the industry has grown so quickly highlights the demand for finance among British small businesses.

“With 90 per cent of small business lending controlled by five major banks, our rate of growth proves the demand for choice.”

The London-based company has experienced rapid growth, with the team of employees jumping from just three in 2010, to more than 60 this year.

Despite their success, lending to small businesses from the mainstream banks has fallen by as much as 35 per cent, even with various government schemes being implemented to rectify the issue.

Some 16,000 Funding Circle investors have managed to fund nearly 2,000 businesses in the three years of operation, earning an average return of 6.2 per cent.
                                                                                                           
James Meekings added: “Peer-to-peer lending is challenging the way business finance is done.  We believe peer-to-peer lending has the potential to provide up to 20 per cent of all small business funding within ten years.”