Recent Release | 10 Mar 2022
Financing the Future: Funding Circle’s 2021 impact
Economic Consulting Team
Oxford Economics
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) continued to face challenges in 2021 as the year started with a third national lockdown. But rising confidence among SMEs dovetailed with improved performance throughout the year as the post-pandemic recovery continued.
In this report we investigate the uneven impact the pandemic and ongoing recovery is having on SMEs, and the role access to finance will play in their future plans for investment and growth. We also examine the vital role entrepreneurs played in driving the recovery forward in 2021. In order to maintain this recovery’s momentum, it’s imperative that small businesses continue to access the finance they need to grow. In 2021, Funding Circle facilitated £2 billion of lending to SMEs located in every one of the UK’s 650 parliamentary constituencies.
About the team
Our economic consulting team are world leaders in quantitative economic analysis, working with clients around the globe and across sectors to build models, forecast markets and evaluate interventions using state-of-the art techniques. Lead consultants on this project were:
Stephen Foreman
Associate Director, Economic Footprint & Sustainability
Stephen Foreman
Associate Director, Economic Footprint & Sustainability
London, United Kingdom
Stephen leads a team of economists who assess the economic and social footprint of a variety of different investments, companies, and industries at the global, national and local level. He has led engagements for corporations, financial institutions, government organisations, trade associations, charities, and universities across the world.
Stephen has also worked on Oxford’s Global Industry Service where he was responsible for forecasting the global transport sector, leading Oxford Economics’ industry research, and managing consultancy projects for industrial organisations.
Stephen joined Oxford Economics from the UK civil service, where he worked on a range of macroeconomic, fiscal, tax and welfare policy issues across HM Treasury, the Office for Budget Responsibility and the Department for Work and Pensions.
James Bedford
Lead Economist, Economic Footprint & Sustainability
James Bedford
Lead Economist, Economic Footprint & Sustainability
London, United Kingdom
James is a Lead Economist working within the Economic Footprint and Sustainability team of Oxford Economics. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Economics from Newcastle University. For his dissertation, James was awarded the European Award for Aviation Economics by the German Aviation Research Society. Since joining the team in 2016, James has worked on a range of high-profile economic impact studies for clients including the World Brewing Alliance, Airbus, and Sky.
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