Funding Circle: Finance chief quits small business lender
The chief financial officer of small business lending platform Funding Circle is stepping down.
Sean Glithero will leave the lender later this year, Funding Circle said. He will be replaced by Oliver White, who is currently chief financial officer of Provident Financial’s credit card unit, Vanquis Bank.
Funding Circle’s platform, which has around 80,000 investors, arranges loans for small and medium-sized companies by linking them with retail and institutional investors. Since 2010, the company has arranged loans worth over £8bn to 77,000 businesses worldwide.
“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,” said founder and chief executive Samir Desai.
Desai said White had a “a proven track record and deep understanding of growing an international loan provider” and was “the right successor to help support us in the next phase of our journey”. Before joining Vanquis, White was chief financial officer at Barclaycard.
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In a statement released alongside news of his resignation, 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 said he was “looking forward” to joining the lending platform. “[Small business] lending is a substantial market and has been hugely underserved for years,” he added.
“The team at Funding Circle have shown over the last decade there is an alternative and better way to help small businesses access the finance they need to run their businesses”.
Funding Circle shares had crashed as much as 20 per cent in July after the lending platform halved revenue growth predictions. In an October trading update, the company reported stronger loan growth and reiterated its full-year guidance.
The platform launched an internal review in September after it emerged investors were having to wait as long as 16 weeks to withdraw their cash.
Shares in Funding Circle were 0.99 per cent down in afternoon trading.