Leading P2P small business lending platform Funding Circle has acquired Zencap, the parties have announced.

Speaking at the LendIt USA 2015 forum, Funding Circle CEO Samir Desai confirmed the news along with the company’s intention to expand its services beyond current markets the UK and the US to Germany, Spain and the Netherlands.

Zencap was only founded last year in Germany but has grown rapidly since its inception. Over the past 17 months it has lent a total of around £35m to more than 500 businesses.

Desai said the acquisition was part of a wider Funding Circle strategy to help businesses “sidestep outdated and inefficient banking system and borrow from investors”.

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“Today’s news is the next exciting stage of this journey,” he continued. “We have been hugely impressed with what the Zencap team have achieved so far.

“By coming together we combine Funding Circle’s leading position in the UK and US with Zencap’s deep understanding of local markets to create the first truly global marketplace lending platform.”

Zencap co-founder Mattias Knecht told lendacademy.com he and his team “share a common vision with Funding Circle: to build a better financial world”.

“By bringing both companies together we are creating the No. 1 online lending marketplace for business loans and the first truly global player in our industry,” he continued. “We will be able to roll out new products even faster, shorten turnaround time for borrowers, and leverage our global institutional investors.”

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