Funding Circle boss set to hand over the reins within a year

Evening Standard · collected 2026-09-08 · by Holly Williams
Read the original at Evening Standard ↗

Summary

Lisa Jacobs, CEO of Funding Circle since January 2022, is expected to leave the company within a year, with plans to find her replacement underway. The company reported strong financial results, with pre-tax profits more than tripling to £24.1 million in the first half of this year and a revised outlook for full-year profits exceeding £40 million. Despite these positive numbers, shares in Funding Circle fell 11% on Tuesday morning trading. Jacobs said it's time to step down due to the company being "in the best position that it has ever been".
Written by the local model on 2026-09-08, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
13
claim-shaped sentences
Uncertain
8%
1 of 13 hedged
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher trust
96.4
red-flag proxy, not a credibility rating
Outlets on this story
1
Economy/Business
Narrative spread
1
articles carrying this framing
Analyzed 2026-09-08 · how these are computed

AI analysis (generated at analysis time, not now)

Story summary

Lisa Jacobs, the CEO of Funding Circle, will step down within a year, no later than September 2027. She has been with the company since 2012 and was appointed chief executive in January 2022. The decision comes as the company reports strong financial results for the first half of the year, with pre-tax profits more than tripling to £24.1 million from £6 million a year ago. Despite this growth, shares in the company fell by 11% in trading on Tuesday morning. Jacobs says it's time to start handing over the reins, and the company will now begin searching for her replacement. Under her leadership, Funding Circle has shown "strong growth and profitability" and is reportedly in its "best position ever".

Written for “Funding Circle Leadership Change” on 2026-09-08, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political question, so it has no leaning score. That is an answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political position.
No political leaning scored for article 7065 · logged 2026-09-08

Story

📰 Funding Circle Leadership Change
Economy/Business · 1 article(s) covering the same event. This is the one the site leads with.

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Publisher

Evening Standard · 193 article(s) · 0 correction(s) detected
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Who wrote this

Holly Williams
5 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 The group said Lisa Jacobs is set to leave “no later” than September 2027 and will now kick off the search for her replacement.
🔮 The cuts are largely expected to impact office roles, with the majority of job losses affecting its UK operations, where around 34,000 staff in total are based.
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2026-08-26 · assertive framing · Applied Nutrition hikes outlook after revenues jump 50%
🔮 It comes as Ofgem is expected on Wednesday to announce an increase in the energy price cap from October 1, with latest forecasts pointing to a 4% rise just as many households will turn on their heating.
🔮 Thames Water lenders plan board overhaul if rescue bid approved Thames Water’s creditors have revealed plans to appoint four new directors to the board of the stricken supplier if their rescue bid is given the green light to avoid it being nationalised. Former Yorkshire Water chief executive Liz Barber is among the first tranche of proposed non-executive directors unveiled by the London & Valley Water consortium as it looks to secure Government backing for the deal. Infrastructure expert Mike McTighe has already been named as the proposed new chairman of Thames Water should the bid be accepted, which would see him replace incumbent Sir Adrian Montague. Details of the proposed board members are seen as an effort to reassure the Government over governance and leadership of Britain’s biggest water supplier should the rescue bid be approved, amid growing calls for it to be nationalised.
Also by Holly Williams
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

Topics

Funding Circle

Subjects

Funding Circle ORG · 3× Jacobs PERSON · 3× Andrew Mullinger PERSON · 1× Desai PERSON · 1× James Meekings PERSON · 1× Ken Stannard PERSON · 1× Lisa PERSON · 1× Lisa Jacobs PERSON · 1× Samir Desai PERSON · 1×

Narrative

It hiked its full-year outlook to more than £40 million in pre-tax profits and £255 million in revenues following the strong first half, up from previous guidance for profits of at least £35 million and revenues of around £235 million.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-08
🔮 The group said Lisa Jacobs is set to leave “no later” than September 2027 and will now kick off the search for her replacement.
2026-09-08 · Evening Standard
Funding Circle boss set to hand over the reins within a year · assertive framing

Claims (13 extracted, 1 hedged)

The group said Lisa Jacobs is set to leave “no later” than September 2027 and will now kick off the search for her replacement. asserted
Jacobs → say → replacement
Ms Jacobs has been with the group since 2012 and was appointed chief executive in January 2022. asserted
Jacobs → appoint → January
The succession plans come as the firm said half-year pre-tax profits more than trebled to £24.1 million in the six months to June 30, up from £6 million a year ago. asserted
profits → come → million
It hiked its full-year outlook to more than £40 million in pre-tax profits and £255 million in revenues following the strong first half, up from previous guidance for profits of at least £35 million and revenues of around £235 million. asserted
It → hike → million
But shares in the FTSE 250 listed firm fell 11% in Tuesday morning trading despite the profit cheer. asserted
shares → list → cheer
Outgoing boss Ms Jacobs said the results show the business is “in the best position that it has ever been”. asserted
it → say → position
She said: “We have shown strong growth and profitability and great foundations for the future – and now feels like the right time to start the process of handing over the reins.” asserted
We → say → reins
The group’s chairman, Ken Stannard, paid tribute to Lisa’s “outstanding and ongoing contribution to Funding Circle”. asserted
chairman → pay → Circle
“She has transformed the business, advanced our mission and built a great team,” he said. asserted
he → transform → team
“When she joined in 2012, Funding Circle was a start-up built on a simple conviction: that technology could transform how small businesses access finance. uncertain
businesses → join → finance
“Since then, we’ve extended more than £18 billion in credit to more than 135,000 SMEs, and delivered the transformation plan set out in March 2024 to build a simpler, high-growth and more profitable business.” asserted
we → extend → business
Ms Jacobs took on the top job when former chief executive and co-founder Samir Desai stepped aside. asserted
Desai → take → job
Funding Circle was set up in August 2010 by three university friends – Mr Desai, James Meekings and Andrew Mullinger. asserted
Circle → set → friends
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