Peer-to-peer lending platform Zopa has closed its latest fundraising round at £60m, making it the largest raise for the company yet.

Zopa, one of the UK’s so-called ‘big three’ peer-to-peer lenders, said it will put the funds towards planning for the launch of a full 'next generation' banking operation.

The UK-based companyis in the process of applying for a banking licence from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). If granted, Zopa is planning to expand its product offering to savings and credit products.

Announcing the close of the fundraising round, Zopa said both new and existing investors had contributed. Backers so far have included Augmentum Fintech, Northzone and Bessemer Venture Partners.

The round, opened earlier this year, closed with a new £14m injection of capital, adding to initial funding of £44m.

Zopa claims to have lent more than £3.7 billion in unsecured personal loans to more than half a million customers in the UK since it was founded in 2005.

The company announced plans to launch a bank in November 2016 and achieved full-year profitability for the first time in 2017.

Jaidev Janardana, Zopa chief executive, said: “This new funding takes us a step closer to realising our vision of being the best place for money in the UK.

“Having served half a million customers to date, Zopa is set to redefine the finance industry once again through our next generation bank to meet a broader set of UK customers’ financial needs.”

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