Media

Meet five of the most important players in Scottish fintech

10 September 2020

The Scotsman’s Fintech Focus supplement featured our founder and CEO, Stuart Lunn, and noted that LendingCrowd is “fuelling the growth of small businesses and sole traders that may otherwise have struggled to access traditional bank lending at affordable costs”.

LendingCrowd approved for CBILS accreditation

1 July 2020

Our approval for accreditation under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) was featured by The Scotsman, AltFi, Daily Business, Peer2Peer Finance News, Finextra, Scottish Financial News, Bridging & Commercial, FinTech Futures and Business Matters.

Helen McKay makes Women in FinTech Powerlist

5 March 2020

Daily Business, Peer2Peer Finance News and Scottish Financial News covered the news that Helen McKay, our Risk & Compliance Officer, had been recognised in the global Innovate Finance Women in FinTech Powerlist 2019.

Three lenders reveal the methodology behind their funding decisions

12 December 2019

The Scotsman included LendingCrowd in this business lending feature, highlighting our speed of decision-making and ability to support the growth ambitions of businesses across Britain.

LendingCrowd and ICAS sign strategic partnership for business lending

3 October 2019

The news that LendingCrowd has become ICAS’s preferred partner for business lending was featured in AltFi, The Scotsman, Bridging & Commercial, Business Money, FinTech Scotland, Insider.co.uk, Peer2Peer Finance News, Scottish Financial News, Commercial Reporter, Fintech Finance, Scottish Business News and Daily Business.

LendingCrowd named Best P2P Business Lender

12 September 2019

The Growth Finance Awards, in which LendingCrowd was named Best P2P Business Lender, were covered in Peer2Peer Finance News, FinTech Scotland, Scottish Financial News, High Growth Scotland, Fintech Finance and Scottish Business News.

LendingCrowd strengthens Business Development team

29 August 2019

The expansion of our Business Development team was featured in Daily Business, The Scotsman, Peer2Peer Finance News, Insider.co.uk, Bridging & Commercial, Fintech Finance, AltFi, Scottish Financial News, Commercial Reporter and Fintech Insight.

LendingCrowd partners with Brismo for verified returns data

3 July 2019

News of our partnership with lending performance data specialist Brismo, which provides independently verified returns data, was covered by DIGIT, FinTech Scotland, W7 News, AltFi, Fintech Finance and Scottish Financial News.

LendingCrowd appoints Robbie McKenzie as General Counsel and Chief Risk & Compliance Officer

20 June 2019

The appointment of Robbie McKenzie as our General Counsel and Chief Risk & Compliance Officer was featured in Scottish Legal News, AltFi, Peer2Peer Finance News, Bridging & Commercial, Fintech Finance, Mortgage Introducer, The Scotsman, Silicon Scotland, Daily Business, Finextra, Scottish Business News and Insider.co.uk.

High-value tech jobs boom outside London

12 June 2019

A Tech Nation report that ranked Edinburgh as among the UK’s fastest-growing technology hubs – and included a comment from our CEO Stuart Lunn – was featured in Daily Business, Insider.co.uk and The Scotsman.

UK tech sector creates one unicorn a month

11 June 2019

The UK created 13 new ‘unicorns’ – privately owned tech companies valued at more than $1 billion – over the past year, according to Tech Nation research. Our contribution to the report was quoted in FutureScot.

LendingCrowd’s rapid growth down to addressing loan market gap

23 May 2019

Stuart Lunn, Founder and CEO of LendingCrowd, was interviewed in The Scotsman for its Fintech Focus supplement. He said: “We want to help SMEs to grow; that’s what we all believe in.”

LendingCrowd creates transformational deal to partner with Scottish Investment Bank and NIBC to fund SME growth

21 May 2019

Our unique £18.75 million funding deal with Scottish Investment Bank and NIBC to provide SMEs with the business loans they need to grow was featured in AltFi, FinTech Scotland, The Scotsman, DIGIT, Scottish Financial Review, Bridging & Commercial, Fintech Finance, Scottish Business Insider, Peer2Peer Finance News, High Growth Scotland, Daily Business, Scottish Financial News, Business Money, Insider Media, Scottish Business News and Marketing Stockport.

A balanced approach to diversification

14 May 2019

The launch of our AutoBalance and AutoQueue features, designed to achieve the optimum level of diversification for investors in our Growth and Income accounts, was covered by Crowdfund Insider and Peer2Peer Finance News.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained

1 May 2019

Darren Cairns, LendingCrowd’s Chief Marketing Officer, talks to Peer2Peer Finance News about how our platform combines risk modelling and human expertise to make lending decisions, adding: “There’s no such thing as a risk-free investment, but diversification is the easiest way to manage risk and improve your opportunity for better returns.”

LendingCrowd joins leading tech scale-ups on Upscale 4.0

28 January 2019

The news that we’ve been selected to join Tech Nation’s Upscale 4.0 programme for fast-growing tech companies was covered by City A.M., Daily Business, DIGIT, The Edinburgh Reporter, Evening Standard, FinTech Scotland, Forbes, FutureScot, High Growth Scotland, Insider.co.uk, Peer2Peer Finance News, The Scotsman, UK Tech News, TheBusinessDesk.com and Scottish Financial News.

P2P lenders deliver FTSE-beating returns in 2018

22 January 2019

Peer2Peer Finance News pointed out that the FTSE 100 fell by 12.5% in 2018, its biggest fall in a decade, while “LendingCrowd’s rate of return for the same period was 8.45%”.

Insolvency reforms bring secured loans into focus

5 December 2018

In the latest issue of Peer2Peer Finance News, our founder and CEO Stuart Lunn says that HMRC’s return to preferred creditor status is ‘potentially a significant opportunity for alternative lenders to gain market share, as they can step in when banks are unwilling to lend’.

LendingCrowd appoints Darren Cairns as Chief Marketing Officer

23 November 2018

The appointment of Darren Cairns as our Chief Marketing Officer was featured in Finextra, Finance Magnates, Peer2Peer Finance News, Insider.co.uk, Daily Business and The Scotsman.

FSB research reveals Scotland’s female business hotspots

26 October 2018

Adrian Innes, our Head of Origination, was quoted in The Scotsman and Insider.co.uk as the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) published research into which areas of Scotland have the highest numbers of female entrepreneurs. We are the headline sponsor of the FSB Annual Dinner, which will be held in Glasgow on Thursday 15 November.

An open book

22 October 2018

Our founder and CEO Stuart Lunn spoke to Peer2Peer Finance News about regulation and transparency in the fintech lending sector.

Sir Sandy Crombie joins LendingCrowd as Chairman

2 October 2018

The appointment of former Standard Life CEO Sir Sandy Crombie as our Chairman was covered by Financial Adviser, The Herald, DIGIT, Bridging & Commercial, High Growth Scotland, Insider.co.uk, The Scotsman, FT.com, Peer2Peer Finance News, Scottish Financial News, Daily Business, Finextra, FutureScot and Scottish Financial Review.

Edinburgh P2P LendingCrowd backs FCA plan to curb cowboys

9 September 2018

Stuart Lunn, our CEO, tells The Sunday Times Scotland that the “proposed evolution of the regulatory regime will encourage improvements” in the peer-to-peer lending sector.

Lenders flock to Scotland as P2P sector takes off

4 September 2018

LendingCrowd CEO Stuart Lunn is quoted in the latest issue of Peer2Peer Finance News, which says that Scotland “looks set to become a peer-to-peer lending hotspot”. Read his thoughts on page 9.

NACFB Magazine – August 2018

8 August 2018

In an article for the NACFB Magazine, our Head of Origination, Adrian Innes, explains that SMEs are “increasingly willing to think outside the bank” when it comes to their funding options. You can find his article on pages 52-53.

Peer-to-peer lending is paying dividends

31 July 2018

We were featured in The Courier’s Business Matters supplement, which highlighted our platform’s growth since launching in 2014.

Read all about it: LendingCrowd’s record first half

5 July 2018

The news about our record first-half lending performance was covered by The Scotsman, The Herald, Peer2Peer Finance News, Insider, Daily Business, Scottish Financial Review and Scottish Business News Network.

P2PFA accused of reducing transparency after loanbook changes

20 June 2018

Peer2Peer Finance News quoted our CEO Stuart Lunn in this article about changes to the Peer-to-Peer Finance Association’s rules around the publication of its members’ loan books.

P2P lenders show there’s life outside London

4 June 2018

Our lending figures are highlighted in this Peer2Peer Finance News article focusing on peer-to-peer funding providers outside the UK capital.

LendingCrowd celebrates record month for loan origination

4 June 2018

News of our best-ever month, with more than £3 million of loan deals completed in May, featured in The Scotsman, Insider, Peer2Peer Finance News, Crowdfund Insider, FinTech Scotland and Bridging & Commercial.

LendingCrowd reports record month of lending

18 May 2018

Bridging & Commercial reports on a record month for LendingCrowd, with almost £3 million of funding delivered to small businesses in April.

P2P lenders benefit as BoE keeps interest rates low

10 May 2018

AltFi quoted our CEO, Stuart Lunn, and Director of Operations, Mike Allan, in this article looking at the Bank of England’s decision to keep interest rates on hold. Stuart’s comments were also featured in Daily Business.

Rise of the P2P lenders helping SMEs to flourish

7 May 2018

Writing in The Scotsman, LendingCrowd CEO Stuart Lunn looks at the rising popularity of P2P business lending and our plans for the year ahead.

Read all about it: LendingCrowd’s £2m funding round

3 April 2018

The news about our funding round generated a lot of media coverage, with The Scotsman running it as the lead story in its business section. The newspaper wrote: “Edinburgh-based peer-to-peer (P2P) lender LendingCrowd has secured an external funding round of £2 million as it targets a “game-changing” 2018, looking to significantly boost investor numbers.” Crowdfund Insider said: “LendingCrowd, one of the UK’s fastest-growing alternative finance lenders to the SME market, announced on Wednesday it secured £2 million through its latest investment round, which was led by Equity Gap and included a number of prominent private investors from Scotland’s entrepreneurial and finance scene and the Scottish Investment Bank. This news comes less than two months after LendingCrowd launched its Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA) with a target rate of return of 6% a year.” AltFi also pointed out that the round “has been led by angel syndicate Equity Gap alongside a number of prominent Scottish entrepreneurs and the Scottish Investment Bank”. Peer2Peer Finance News said: “LendingCrowd has secured external funding of £2m that will help ramp up its sales and marketing activities.” Insider.co.uk wrote: “Peer-to-peer funder LendingCrowd has secured £2 million to accelerate its growth following a strong 2017.” Our news was also featured in BQ Live, Bridging & Commercial, Business Money, Daily Business, Digit, FinSMEs, Fortune, P2P-Banking, Scottish Business News Network and Scottish Financial News.

Are you making the most of your ISA allowance?

8 March 2018

Our range of Innovative Finance ISAs is featured in this Silversurfers article about ISA investments.

Business borrowers should think outside the bank

6 March 2018

LendingCrowd stands ready and willing to help Scotland’s vital small businesses – read our article on the Insider website.

The P2P species is evolving – for the better

6 March 2018

The latest issue of NACFB Magazine features our CEO, Stuart Lunn, who looks at the continued evolution and diversification of the peer-to-peer lending market.

Ultimate guide to Innovative Finance ISAs

21 February 2018

Peer2Peer Finance News takes a look at Innovative Finance ISAs, including the three options we offer for investors – our Growth, Income and Self Select products.

A credible choice

1 February 2018

Our CEO, Stuart Lunn, is interviewed in the latest issue of Peer2Peer Finance News, which says LendingCrowd offers “an alluring combination of bumper returns and robust credit risk assessment”.

Where to get better ISA returns – if you’re feeling adventurous

22 January 2018

Our Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA) is mentioned in this Times article about peer-to-peer lending. It says that IFISAs ‘are offered by peer-to-peer lending websites approved and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), such as LendingCrowd, Zopa and Funding Circle’.

How the UK’s regulatory framework protects P2P investors

8 December 2017

In this article for City AM, LendingCrowd CEO Stuart Lunn looks at the evolution of regulations surrounding peer-to-peer investing.

P2P platforms rush to launch innovative finance Isas

4 December 2017

This Financial Times article highlights that LendingCrowd was one of the first peer-to-peer platforms to launch an Innovative Finance ISA.

Edinburgh financial sector optimistic about life after Brexit

27 November 2017

LendingCrowd is named among Edinburgh’s successful fintech start-ups in this Financial Times article about the city’s prospects outside the European Union.

Nick Freer: Don’t let sky-high valuations dominate thinking

22 November 2017

We’re mentioned in Nick Freer’s weekly column in The Scotsman – read the full column here!

Interview: LendingCrowd chief on competition and collaboration with finance giants

30 September 2017

LendingCrowd CEO Stuart Lunn was interviewed by the Scotsman about peer-to-peer lending, fintech and LendingCrowd’s growth – read the full interview here!

P2P lender LendingCrowd targets growth in Scotland

21 September 2017

LendingCrowd has had a record month in August and has expanded the senior team with the hiring of Adrian Innes. You can read more about this news on the Scotsman and Scottish Financial News.

LendingCrowd reaches 200 deals in August

20 September 2017

LendingCrowd, Scotland’s only alternative finance provider to SMEs, topped 200 cumulative loan deals in August. Read more at p2pfinancenews.co.uk,  futurescot.com and sbnn.co.uk.

Is an ISA the best home for your nest egg?

25 March 2017

LendingCrowd is mentioned in a piece from the Guardian about ISAs and how to make the most of the potential benefits. Read the article here.

‘No evidence’ of peer-to-peer investors underestimating risk, says P2PFA

1 September 2016

LendingCrowd is featured in a piece from Bridging and Commercial on the risks associated with peer-to-peer lending. You can read the article here.

LendingCrowd records post-Brexit boost

4 August 2016

LendingCrowd has recorded a steep increase in deal activity during July, as reported in this article from BQ Live, which you can read here.

Stuart Lunn: The developing market for SME finance – The Scotsman

21 July 2016

LendingCrowd CEO Stuart Lunn’s comment piece on the SME finance market and Brexit appeared in yesterday’s online version of the Scotsman – you can read it here.

Ringing in the Changes – The Scotsman

10 December 2015

Businesses are being more inventive in the way they are sourcing funding. Craig Johnson investigates the changing funding landscape in Scotland. Please find the article about LendingCrowd here.

The LendingCrowd app has launched!

30 November 2015

We are very excited to announce the launch of the LendingCrowd app, a new and exciting way to invest in growing UK SMEs. The app is the first of its kind to allow new investors to sign up and load money onto the platform, as well as keeping investors up to date with their current investments and allowing them to bid on new loans. The app is currently available for iOS (download it for free here) and work on an Android app will begin in the near future. Read more: City A.M., AltFi Funding, Daily Business Group, Scottish Financial News and Crowdfunding Campaigner.

Autumn Statement – News for crowdfunding and the IFISA

25 November

The Chancellor George Osborne has announced in the Autumn Statement that debt securities (bonds and mini-bonds) offered via crowdfunding platforms will be included in the list of products eligible for the new Innovative Finance ISA. This ISA was announced in the Summer Budget in July when it was initially said that it would include peer-to-peer investments from 6th April 2016, allowing people to receive tax-free returns on these investments. Debt securities will be included in the IFISA from Autumn 2016, however for now equity crowdfunding remains outside of the list of ISA products and the possibility of including it will continue to be explored. Read more

Bank of England: Interest rates to remain low for some time

24 November 2015

Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, has said while speaking to MPs on the Treasury Committee that UK interest rates are likely to stay low “for some time”. UK interest rates have been set at 0.5% since 2009, and while Carney does not believe that there is a case for negative interest rates he said that “even with limited and gradual rate increases it still will be a relatively low interest rate environment”. No date for an interest rate rise has been given, although it is expected that it will be mid-2016 at the earliest. Read more

LendingCrowd supports £1.5 million Diet Chef deal

3 November 2015

LendingCrowd is excited to announce that we have supported the management buyout of Diet Chef, the largest and most successful diet food home delivery company in the UK. Diet Chef, which was launched from a garage in 2008, has grown to £15 million turnover with 150,000 customers. The £1.5 million Diet Chef deal is one of the largest peer-to-business loans funded in the UK, reinforcing LendingCrowd as a credible alternative to traditional funding sources. Since launching in October 2014, LendingCrowd has loaned in excess of £3.7million to 35 UK SMEs. Read more about the Diet Chef loan from The Scotsman, The Herald, Daily Record, Daily Business Group, City A.M., Business Quarter, ScotBuzz and Startups.co.uk.

LendingCrowd wins Herald Digital Business Award!

23 October 2015

The LendingCrowd team attended the Herald Digital Business Awards last night, and we are very proud to say that LendingCrowd won the Business to Business Award for supporting Scotland’s SMEs! This award means a lot to us and we look forward to helping many more businesses to secure funding they need to grow. We would also like to say congratulations to the other winners: Digital Six (E-commerce Award), Spider Online (Public Sector Award), Euan’s Guide (Charity and Social Enterprise Award), The Lane Agency (Consumer Engagement Award), Equator (Best Use of Social Media Award), University of Strathclyde – Chris Hughes (Student Award), Andrew Duncan – Swarm Online (Digital Professional of the Year Award), Ecom Scotland and RNIB (Education and Training Award), Storm ID (Digital Agency Award) and ScreenMedia (Best Mobile App). Read the Herald’s coverage of the event here.

Borrowers in the news

21 October 2015

At LendingCrowd we love to see small business success, so we are very pleased that two of our borrowers have been in the news this month. We Care for Children raised £35,000 with LendingCrowd and have successfully opened a new Little Flyer’s nursery this month, adding to their portfolio of six nurseries in Edinburgh and West Lothian. Read more about We Care for Children’s new venture and experience with crowdlending in The Scotsman, Daily Business and Edinburgh Evening News. Poddle Pod has also seen its expansion plans come to fruition after securing a £30,000 loan. The business has increased production of its Poddle Pod product by outsourcing production to Turkey, has begun selling to major high-street retailers and has developed a product to be sold to the NHS. Read more about Poddle Pod’s expansion success: Midlands Business News and Business Quarter Live.

We're celebrating our first birthday this week

30 September 2015

We’re really happy to say that we have reached our first birthday. It’s been an amazing journey and we look forward to celebrating many more. To date we have facilitated £1.75m of loans to 28 SMEs and grown to over 1100 investors. Thanks for the best wishes ScotBuzz An interesting article about the background and first year of LendingCrowd – thanks BQ Thanks to The Herald – an article about our successful first year Thanks for the support The Scotsman – LendingCrowd’s success and future plans

Peer-to-peer lender float set to raise £150m

25 September 2015

Funding Circle, the fast-growing peer-to-peer lender, is planning to float an investment trust to raise £150 million for credit-hungry small businesses. The vehicle will provide money to small companies in Britain and the United States through Funding Circle’s online debt marketplace.

New Isa means tax-free interest from peer-to-peer investments fuelling the lend-to-save boom

15 July 2015

A new type of Isa will be brought in next year allowing peer-to-peer investors to earn interest tax-free.

The Innovative Finance Isa will cover investments made through websites where savers lend their cash to other individuals. Read more.

The internet revolution that is changing our patterns of consumption

23 August 2015

Technology is making it easier than ever before for people to rent goods to consumers, but does the new ‘sharing economy’ herald a new economic dawn or is it just business as usual, asks Mark Latham. Read more

How more firms are opting for crowdfunding route

9 June 2015

While many of the businesses which looked to raise money through crowdfunding in the early days would no doubt fail a grilling in the Dragons’ Den, the latest Scottish companies to announce offers have highlighted the changing face of the sector. Read more.

17 firms joining Alternative Business Funding group

28 June 2015

ABF has lobbied for the new banking referral legislation – which is set to force high street banks to refer any business declined a loan to alternative lenders – and claims the legislation could pump £2 billion in business lending into the economy a year. Read more.

Crowd Funding: increasingly important alternative for small businesses

15 March 2015

The crowd-funding sector has provided much-needed competition to the banking sector and opened up new funding routes for businesses, particularly those small to medium-sized enterprises that have found it hard to obtain loans and raise equity in recent years since the financial crisis. Read more.