Peer-to-peer lending platform Funding Circle opened for trading on the London Stock Exchange today, raising £300m in primary proceeds, with a valuation of £1.5bn.

Founded in the UK, Funding Circle has facilitated more than £5bn in loans to over 50,000 SMEs from 80,000 investors in the UK, US, Germany and the Netherlands.

Samir Desai, CEO of Funding Circle, said: “We have always believed Funding Circle would be well-suited to the public markets and today’s listing is recognition of the strength and global impact of our model. We look forward to starting this exciting new chapter for the business as we focus on growth across all markets and seek to create a better financial world for small businesses and investors. I am pleased to welcome our new shareholders and I would like to thank my fellow Circlers for all their hard work since we launched.

“Funding Circle is a very ambitious company and we are excited to continue growing our business over the coming years. The UK is a great place to start and grow a FinTech business and we are proud to have listed on London Stock Exchange today.”

The company is trading under FNIG.L. Funding Circle’s stock opened at 460 pence – only a small increase of 4.5% on its initial offer price of 440 pence per share.

Dr Robert Barnes, global head of primary markets and CEO Turquoise, London Stock Exchange Group, added: “We congratulate Funding Circle on its successful IPO. We have watched with great interest the development of the FinTech industry over the last decade. Funding Circle’s IPO today further confirms London as a leading international financial centre for raising capital for global FinTech businesses.

“Sitting at the heart of UK’s financial ecosystem, London Stock Exchange is the natural funding partner to a sector that is reshaping the global financial services landscape. We are proud to support these businesses throughout their growth journeys, offering them access to deep liquid pools of international investor capital for the long-term.”

Funding Circle is backed by investors including Index Ventures, Accel and BlackRock.