Edinburgh-based fintech lending platform LendingCrowd and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) have signed a strategic partnership that will see LendingCrowd become ICAS’s preferred partner in its business loans category. 

ICAS is a professional body for more than 21,000 charted accountants in more than 100 countries.

The agreement means that ICAS will provide LendingCrowd with a platform to communicate to its network of member accountants about the alternatives to traditional bank lending.

LendingCrowd in turn will offer a special discount on client fees to ICAS members.

The partnership will last for an initial period of three years — until 2022. 

LendingCrowd founder and CEO Stuart Lunn said: “We are delighted to announce this strategic partnership with ICAS, which brings real opportunities for us all.

“It is a fantastic platform for us to showcase the benefits of alternatives to traditional bank lending, and for ICAS members to then utilise these benefits.

“It marks another important step forward in LendingCrowd’s growth story, five years after we launched.

“We look forward to working closely with ICAS and making this partnership a real success story.”

Founded in 2014, LendingCrowd matches investors looking for a greater return with small businesses seeking finance to grow.

To date, more than 7,400 investors have signed up to the platform.

LendingCrowd is backed by Scottish angel syndicate Equity Gap, the Scottish Investment Bank (the investment arm of Scottish Enterprise) and a number of prominent investors from Scotland’s finance and entrepreneurial scene.