Surge in value of new loans gives Funding Circle a welcome lift

FUNDING CIRCLE is starting to bounce back from its difficult listing after reporting a surge in the value of new loans on its books.

The peer-to-peer lender’s loans under management jumped in value by 60pc to £2.8bn in its third quarter. Investors funded a record £564m of new loans in the three months to the end of September, a rise of 45pc.

Shares in the company rose 4.9pc to 430p after the announcement, although this is still below the 440p level that they debuted at on the London Stock Exchange last month.

The results, the company’s first since it listed, will come as welcome news for the eight-year-old lender.

Funding Circle’s shares dropped to as low as 340p on its first day of trading, amid fears the company was being overvalued. Shortly before its flotation, Funding Circle trimmed its valuation from £1.8bn to £1.5bn.

City advisers told The Daily Telegraph that Funding Circle and luxury carmaker Aston Martin’s recent listings had dampened investors’ appetite for floats.

One senior banker said the coming months would be “sparse” in terms of activity as “IPOS are being canned on account of the gross mishandling of Aston Martin and Funding Circle, as well as market volatility”.