It was announced today that Irish leading P2P (Peer-to-Peer) lending platform, Linked Finance, has raised €2m in equity funding to support its plans for expansion. 

The funding round was led by the company’s original venture capital backers, Frontline Ventures. They were joined by a group of 28 individual investors who are all active lenders on the Linked Finance platform. 
 
Linked Finance recently appointed former Ryanair Deputy CEO, Michael Cawley, to the role of Chairman and completed its 1000th loan for an Irish SME in September. The company has now lent over €34.5m to Irish SMEs since its launch in 2013, with more than €14.2m already repaid to Linked Finance lenders.
 
Linked Finance plans to use the funds raised to support ambitious expansion plans. The company intends to establish P2P lending as a mainstay of the SME lending landscape in Ireland; replicating the type of success that this innovative form of funding has already seen in markets like the US and the UK.
 
It is hoped this equity raise will provide Linked Finance with the resources needed to ramp up sales & marketing activity; raising awareness of P2P lending and bringing the benefits of the Linked Finance platform to a much wider audience of Irish business owners.
 
Speaking this week, CEO of Linked Finance, Niall Dorrian said, "It is fantastic that we have been able to practice what we preach, harnessing the power of the crowd to open this investment round to some of our most active users. These lenders are people who know the platform inside out, they know what it's like to lend on the site and they really believe in what we do. It's great to have them on board, and also to have the continuing support of Frontline Ventures."

Source: www.businessworld.ie