UK investors have now lent more than £200m to UK businesses through Funding Circle in under three and a half years.

The peer-to-peer lending marketplace, exclusive to business borrowers, has helped over 3,000 businesses access the finance they need to grow and expand.

Of the £200m total, £130m has been lent out in 2013 alone, creating an estimated 6,150 jobs across the country.

The record week for lending was in December 2013, when £5.3 million made its way to businesses across the UK in seven days.

Laura McMullen, business development director at Funding Circle, said: “Over the last three years, Funding Circle has provided businesses with a faster, more efficient way of accessing the finance they need. What we are seeing now is not just the emergence of a challenger model but a fundamentally better method of borrowing and lending that will continue to grow in importance over the coming years.

“Brokers continue to be instrumental in our growth. We have seen a threefold increase in the number of brokers we have relationships with in the last year and we hope to continue to grow this in 2014.”