Starling Bank joins Funding Options’ lending panel

Funding Options has joined forces with digital bank Starling Bank to deliver business critical access to finance as SMEs across the UK rebuild following a turbulent year. 

Starling Bank which has a 5% share of the UK SME market has become the latest member of leading SME finance marketplace Funding Options’ ever-growing lending panel, which now numbers in excess of 120 active lenders. 

The partnership is very positive for the UK SME finance sector, with the challenger bank having issued more than £2bn of government-backed loans during the pandemic - with two-thirds of recipients outside London. It has ambitious plans to grow its SME account base more than four-fold to hold 18% of the UK market over the next five years.

Similarly active during the post pandemic period, Funding Options has processed more than £850m of CBILS loans, leveraging its proprietary technology to match companies with suitable lending options in minutes. The finance platform has already helped more than 10,000 SMEs access the funds they need, quickly and easily.

Helen Bierton, Chief Banking Officer at Starling Bank says: “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.”

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 .” 

ENDS

About Funding Options:

Funding Options is a leading data-driven marketplace for business finance, helping SMEs get the right funding in place so they can trade, plan and grow with confidence. With over 120 leading lender partners, Funding Options has helped more than 10,000 businesses across the UK and Netherlands secure over £0.5bn in funding. 

In a highly fragmented SME lending ecosystem, Funding Options is fast becoming the de facto marketplace for business finance, connecting businesses, lenders and partners in a frictionless digital journey. The company is transforming the way SMEs access finance through a combination of award-winning technology which uses data analytics, open banking APIs and Artificial Intelligence, and a dedicated team of experienced Business Finance Specialists to ensure borrowers can make informed decisions and have access to funding within minutes. 

Recognised as a fast-growth scaleup, Funding Options was named in the top 25% of the FT 1000, the annual list of Europe’s fastest growing companies and is part of Silicon Valley Comes to the UK’s (SVC2UK) 2020 Scale Up Club cohort, a prestigious annual list of fast-growth UK technology companies destined for great things.

For more information, please get in touch with: [email protected]

About Starling Bank:

Starling Bank is an award-winning, fully-licensed and regulated bank built to give people a fairer, smarter and more human alternative to the banks of the past. It offers business, personal, joint, child, euro and dollar current accounts alongside a range of lending products. Starling also provides B2B banking and payments services through its Banking-as-a-Service model based on its proprietary technology platform to power its own bank. The Starling Marketplace offers customers in-app access to a selection of third party financial services. Headquartered in London, it has offices in Southampton, Cardiff and Dublin. Starling has opened 2 million customer accounts, including more than 330,000 limited company, sole trader and accounts.