LONDON, June 18, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Funding Circle (LSE: FCH), the UK's leading SME finance platform, announces the successful completion of SBOLT 2026-1, the tenth public securitisation of loans originated on the Funding Circle platform.

This transaction, made up of loans owned by Waterfall Asset Management (WAM), marks a decade of public market issuance for Funding Circle — cementing its position as the leading public SME ABS issuer in the UK and Europe in that period*, and underlining the scale and maturity of its SME ABS programme.

Operated on behalf of platform investors, Funding Circle has built a reputable securitisation programme that has opened up SME lending as an asset class, and enables the platform to unlock large, long-term pools of capital for UK SMEs — supporting their growth and contribution to the wider economy.

Across all ten SBOLT transactions, Funding Circle’s programme has:

• Delivered total securitised issuance of c.£2.5 billion since 2016;
• Supported lending to more than 33,000 UK small businesses.

This transaction was well-received by investors, driven by Funding Circle’s long track record of delivering attractive and sustainable returns, together with its consistent programme-based issuance.

Funding Circle has a long-standing relationship with the British Business Bank and SBOLT 2026-1 marks the Bank’s first participation in a Funding Circle public securitisation. The British Business Bank’s involvement broadens institutional participation and represents a further milestone in the development of the UK SME ABS asset class.

Funding Circle’s platform and technology enable institutional investors to deploy capital efficiently to a diverse range of UK SMEs, providing businesses with the finance they need, while offering investors access to attractive risk-adjusted returns.

Dipesh Mehta, Chief Capital Officer at Funding Circle, said: "Ten SBOLT transactions is a significant milestone for Funding Circle, enabling our institutional partners to effectively deploy capital to support UK SMEs for more than a decade. The success of this programme reflects the quality of our platform and the increasing maturity of the UK SME ABS asset class.

“The British Business Bank shows great support for UK SMEs and we’re delighted to be working with the Bank for the first time in this capacity, alongside other new and long-standing investors - broadening investor participation in SME finance as an asset class, funnelling capital to the real economy and supporting job creation. The demand for this transaction as evidenced by the strong pricing achieved, especially in this market environment, underlines the confidence investors have in Funding Circle and the proven performance of our tech platform and robust credit assessment capabilities."

Reinald de Monchy, Chief Banking Officer at the British Business Bank, said: “Funding Circle’s tenth public securitisation marks an important milestone in its continued development of the UK’s small business finance market, and we’re delighted to be collaborating on this type of transaction with them for the first time.

“At the British Business Bank, we are committed to supporting a more diverse and resilient small business lending ecosystem, including by supporting smaller business securitisation markets to enhance funding options for lenders. Transactions like this directly help broaden the range of finance available to smaller businesses across the UK, enabling them to invest, grow and contribute to their local economies.”

James Cuby, Head of Europe at Waterfall Asset Management, said:
"We've worked with Funding Circle since 2018 to support thousands of small businesses through their platform, and this transaction allows us to further support the UK SME market while achieving our strategic investment goals and allowing a broader range of market participants to access this asset class. Funding Circle’s SBOLT ABS programme is now seen by many as one of the prime examples of how forward flows and partnerships with platforms should work.”

*Data source: J.P. Morgan ABS Research

For more information visit: www.fundingcircle.com

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About Funding Circle
Funding Circle (LSE: FCH) is the UK’s leading SME finance platform. Since 2010, we have extended more than £17bn in credit to over 125,000 UK businesses, helping them power the economy and their communities.

By combining proprietary AI-powered credit models with a human touch, we provide a seamless experience that allows SMEs to borrow, pay later, and spend through a single ecosystem. For institutional investors, Funding Circle offers access to an attractive, underserved asset class through a platform built on deep data and a proven track record of robust returns.