Mr. Wray, who is also a non-executive director of the UK’s largest p2b lending platform - Funding Circle - stated that alternative finance providers are still a long way away from funding big businesses. This comes in spite of the fact that Funding Circle recently received a £40 million investment from the British Business Bank. That cash injection is to form part of £450 million of loans to SMEs over the next year and a half.
Mr. Wray clarified his position to MT reporters after a press conference for this summer’s International Festival for Business:
“At the margins there’ll be competition and we’ll both be going for the same types of businesses, but it’s a long way away until P2P is funding BP’s next $7bn revolving loan.
“People are trying to say banks and P2P are very competitive and confrontational. I don’t see it like that. They’ll all be part of the financial spectrum.”
Similar sentiments were flying around at the AltFi Sponsors’ Breakfast not so long ago. It may make headlines to portray alternative finance and traditional outfits and diametrically opposed, but in truth the two currently serve complementary roles, as they target different sections of the market.
Hear more from Ed Wray and Funding Circle at the AltFi Summit on March 11th at Vinopolis (www.altfi.com).
