LendingCrowd crowned Best P2P Business Lender

Edinburgh-based fintech lending platform LendingCrowd has been crowned the UK’s Best P2P Business Lender at the first ever Growth Finance Awards, held in London.

LendingCrowd, which is the only SME lender of its kind headquartered in Scotland, was recognised for its “best-in-class digital platform, transparency, as well as ample resources for both borrowers and lenders”.

Founder and CEO Stuart Lunn said: “To be named Best P2P Business Lender is testament to the significant strides we have made since our launch in 2014. LendingCrowd exists to help alleviate the funding gap facing the UK’s vital community of SMEs, and we’re delighted to have received this recognition at the Growth Finance Awards.”

The award was presented to Stuart and LendingCrowd Chief Marketing Officer Darren Cairns by Simon Bonney, partner at category sponsor Quantuma. 

The Growth Finance Awards, organised by Intelligent Partnership and hosted by television presenter Claudia Winkleman, were designed to highlight the role of the finance community in supporting the growth ambitions of SMEs across the UK. More than 300 guests attended the black-tie event, which took place on Wednesday 11 September at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London.

Guy Tolhurst, Managing Director of Intelligent Partnership, said: “Just to be recognised as a finalist is a great achievement in itself, but to take home a prize is a truly impressive accolade. I look forward to next year’s event and continuing to educate growing businesses about the wide variety of financial options that are available to them.”

Since its launch in late 2014, LendingCrowd has facilitated more than 740 loans to SMEs across the UK with a total value of £65 million, with more than £15 million of lending in Scotland.

LendingCrowd has also been named as a finalist in the Impact and Investment category of the Scottish Financial Services Awards, organised by Scottish Financial Enterprise and sponsored by EY. The shortlisting is in recognition of the unique £18.75 million funding partnership that LendingCrowd has created with Scottish Investment Bank and Dutch entrepreneurial bank NIBC to fund the ambitions of SMEs across Scotland and the rest of the UK.