Funding Circle co-founder steps down from firm’s board
Samir Desai set up the small firm lending platform in 2010.
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Your support makes all the difference.Funding Circle co-founder and former chief executive Samir Desai has said he will step down from the firm’s board next month.
Mr Desai, who set up the small firm lending platform in 2010, has been a non-executive at the group for the past three years – a role he took on after ending his tenure as chief executive and handing over the reins to Lisa Jacobs.
He said he would step down on October 25 when his three-year term comes to an end, but will remain a shareholder in the lender.
Mr Desai – who was awarded a CBE in 2016 for his work in financial services – said: “As I come to the end of my three-year term, I am completing the transition and stepping down from the board.
“I am very supportive of the strategic changes Lisa and the team have made and am excited about Funding Circle’s future.
“I look forward to continuing to support the company as a shareholder and its biggest fan.”
The move comes just weeks after Funding Circle said it had returned to profit in the first half of 2024 and raised its full year outlook, sending shares soaring.
It posted a pre-tax profit of £500,000 for the six months, compared to a £7.4 million loss a year earlier.
The better-than-expected performance meant it was on track to post a profit for the year as a whole, the group said.
On Mr Desai’s departure, Funding Circle chairman Andrew Learoyd said: “Samir has been instrumental in building Funding Circle into the highly innovative business it is today, helping thousands of small businesses get the funding they need to win.
“We wish him well for the future.”
Funding Circle sold its loss-making US arm for £33 million to Florida-based iBusiness Funding in June as part of an attempt to simplify the company and stem losses.
It also said in May it would cut 120 jobs under a cost-cutting drive, while chief financial officer Oliver White also stepped down at the same time.
The recent performance turnaround comes after a torrid past few years, with losses mounting from nearly £13 million in 2022 to £33 million last year.
Despite a resurgence in the past six months, the firm’s shares are still less than half the 440p listing price when it floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2018, at 127p at close on Tuesday.