Recent Release | 26 Mar 2021
Supporting SMEs through the crisis and recovery: Funding Circle’s 2020 impact
Economic Consulting Team
Oxford Economics
According to a new report by Oxford Economics, Funding Circle’s loans under management to SMEs at the end of last year made a total annual contribution of £10 billion to the UK and US. The lending supported 135,000 jobs and £2.8 billion in tax revenues.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) faced a challenging year in 2020. SMEs were impacted by restrictions and closures resulting from Covid-19. The significant support provided by government highlights their importance to the UK economy. With online borrowing increasing, Fintech lenders were well-placed to support SMEs with the finance they required throughout the year.
Funding Circle made a considerable contribution to the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, lending far and wide to businesses in 378 out of the UK’s 379 Local Authority Districts, contributing to the levelling up agenda.
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 included:
James Bedford
Senior Economist
+44 (0) 203 910 8133
James Bedford
Senior Economist
London, United Kingdom
James is an Economist working within the consultancy division of Oxford Economics.
James first joined Oxford Economics in July 2016 as part of his industrial training scheme, when he spent the year assisting the economic impact team with a wide range of projects. Following his industrial placement, James returned to Newcastle University to complete his BSc in Economics. For his dissertation, James was awarded the European Award for Aviation Economics by the German Aviation Research Society. He has re-joined the consultancy division working primarily with economic impact studies.
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