Funding Circle CFO steps down

Funding Circle has appointed the Chief Financial Officer at Vanquis Bank as its new finance chief, replacing Sean Glithero, who will step down from the role and the board later this year.

Oliver White is a long-standing financial services executive, who has spent time working in financial services, lending and payments.

White spent 15 years at Barclays, a spell in which he served as Chief Financial Officer at Barclaycard. 

He has also held served as Finance Director at the bank's global operations and Chief Financial Officer of the bank's Service company.

Prior to his time at Barclays, White spent three years at Capital One, the credit card specialist.

He joins Funding Circle from Vanquis Bank, a subsidiary of Provident Financial Group which targets people with limited or impaired credit ratings.

Glithero has been with Funding Circle for around two and a half years.

Samir Desai,Funding Circle CEO and founder (pictured), said: “On behalf of all at Funding Circle, I would like to thank Sean for his significant contribution since joining us in 2017. He has been an integral member of the team and someone I have always enjoyed working alongside. We wish him all the best for the future."

"In Oliver, we have the right successor to help support us in the next phase of our journey. Oliver has a proven track record and deep understanding of growing an international loan provider and I look forward to him joining."

Glithero said: “It has been an enormous privilege to have worked alongside so many talented people here at Funding Circle. I am leaving to take a break and I continue to remain a strong supporter of Funding Circle and its mission."

White commented: “I’m looking forward to joining the Funding Circle team. SME lending is a substantial market and has been hugely underserved for years. The team at Funding Circle have shown over the last decade there is an alternative and better way to help SMEs access the finance they need to run their businesses."

The appointment of White comes amid a challenging time for the peer-to-peer lender which has endured a difficult 2019.

Last year, it fell out of the FTSE 250 and in August last year reported a pre-tax loss of £31m in the six month period, compared to a £27m loss the year previous.

This morning, shares in Funding Circle were up 3.84 percent to 80.40p.