Funding Circle Stock Drops as CEO Announces Exit

Funding Circle shares dropped 11.5% to trade at 203.5p after the UK-based SME lending platform announced that CEO Lisa Jacobs will step down by September 2027, injecting a degree of leadership uncertainty at a pivotal point in the company's growth trajectory.

The announcement accompanied the release of its half-year 2026 results. The company reported first-half revenue of £138.2 million, up 50% from £92.3 million a year earlier, and profit before tax of £24.1 million, a fourfold improvement from £6.0 million in the same period of 2025.

Alongside the results, management raised full-year 2026 revenue guidance to more than £255 million and pretax profit guidance to more than £40 million. It also announced a new share buyback of up to £25 million to begin once the current programme concludes, bringing total returns to shareholders to roughly £100 million since March 2024.

The broader UK market offered little support or distraction, with the FTSE 100 trading essentially flat at around 10,816 points. Gains in mining stocks offset pressure from rising oil prices, meaning Funding Circle's decline was almost entirely attributable to company-specific dynamics rather than any macro or sector-wide headwind.

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