Funding Circle to dedicate office space to younger startups

Funding Circle is to dedicate a floor of its new London-based headquarters to younger startups. The peer-to-peer lending company, which is worth over £1 million, moved into 71 Queen Victoria Street in Mansion House last year but took on more space than it needed.

The company is now giving startups the opportunity to make use of the extra space on one of its trading floors. It is offering 400 desks, which small businesses and freelancers can now book on property marketplace website Hubble.

Opportunity

Startups will be offered a wide range of facilities with the office space, including Wi-Fi access, bike storage, showers and ping pong.

The desks will be available for around £499 each per month, less than the average price of a desk in London, which a spokeswoman for Funding Circle said is closer to £600 to £650 per month.

Funding Circle UK Chief Operating Officer, Pam Burton, discussed the company’s decision to offer the space with Business Insider, stating that the company took on more space than it needed so that it could grow into it over the next few years, but that in the meantime, the company is “really excited” to offer desks to startups and small businesses at a “reduced market rate.”

“We know what it's like to be small and entrepreneurial, and we hope that access to central London and the city will mean other firms have the opportunity to flourish,” she said.

Increasing trend

According to Hubble, there is an “increasing trend” towards large, well-established businesses wanting to share their own space to give new startups in the city a boost.

Out of the 500 workspaces on Hubble’s website, 29 per cent of them are SMEs offering share space, with 5 per cent of these businesses being worth over £100 million.