debt Going for growth


Three businesses reveal how they got a loan from Funding Circle and their expansion plans.


Funky Junk, a London based supplier of professional recording equipment and services, has been established for 20 years and has branches in Paris and Milan. Earlier this year, the company outlined plans to break into China and Russia, which its loan of £80,000 from Funding Circle has made possible. Mark Thompson, MD of Funky Junk, liked the concept of borrowing from real human beings: ‘It was quite nice to say to the bank, “No thank you, we don’t need you.”’


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Cable & Cotton, founded in 2007, creates strings of lights with handmade, coloured cotton balls to UK vendors, and distributes them to around 200 shops in the UK and Europe. The business, based in Brighton, borrowed £50,000 to increase stock, allowing the company to boost growth in the UK and launch franchises and concessions following successful online expansion into Scandinavia. More than 300 investors lent money to Cable & Cotton, helping the business to double its turnover year-on-year once again.


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Guy Davis, founder of Hiltongrove Business Space, found that it was exceptionally difficult to access finance from the banks, despite the size and success of the business. It was great news when he heard there was an alternative. More than 800 people helped Hiltongrove to borrow £70,000 to improve disabled access for the Citizens Advice Bureau, one of its tenants based in Walthamstow. ‘Within just a few days, I could see that all the £70,000 had been raised,’ says Davis.


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