There is an article in a German startup news magazine speculating that Funding Circle might have bought German p2p lending marketplace for SME loans Zencap from Rocket Internet or is in the process of doing so. The article does not provide any evidence but cites unnamed entrepreneural sources.

I reached out to both Funding Circle and Zencap for comment today but have not heard back yet. EDIT: I received a reply from Zencap that they do not comment on rumours/speculations.
I also checked the filing history of the commercial register and there have been no telltale filings on the Zencap file in the past months, therefore I doubt a sale has been completed. But it still is a possibility because it likely would take some time for the filing to appear.

While I don’t have any hard facts either, I think the scenario has some plausibility. In emails I exchanged with a Zencap founder in the past months, there have been hints about upcoming major developments (without any specifics) at Zencap. Also it would match the intentions of Funding Circle to move into continental Europe.

Zencap was launched in March 2014 and currently originates a loan volume of 4 to 5 million EUR per month. It would be the first case of a major UK marketplace buying a continental European platform. Funding Circle merged with US company Endurance Lending Network in 2013 and acquired US startup Leappay in 2014.