Case Study

Funding Circle

What we did for Funding Circle

Wingman Managed Detection and Response (MDR)

Industry: Finance

Published: 26/06/2025

Project Overview

Funding Circle is the UK’s leading finance platform for SME borrowers. Established in the UK in 2010, Funding Circle has extended more than £13,6bn in credit to c.103,500 businesses. For SME borrowers, Funding Circle provides an unrivalled customer experience, delivered through its technology and data, coupled with a human touch.

The Challenge

Disparate tooling and limited visibility
Complex internal processes and systems
Integration of security data

The Solution

Integrated security management
Streamlined processes
Integration of Wingman MDR
Enhanced Threat Detection and Response
Continuous improvement

The Challenge

Its solutions continue to help customers access the funding they need to win. For institutional investors, Funding Circle provides access to an alternative asset class in an undeserved market, and delivers robust and attractive returns.

SEP2 has been a trusted provider of Managed Detection and Response (MDR) services for Funding Circle since September 2023. This case study sheds light on the early days of their partnership and how working with SEP2 has benefitted the company.

The need for a Managed Detection and Response service
In the modern cyber security landscape, it is vital for organisations to have the capacity to react to threats in a consistent and timely manner. To do this, Funding Circle welcomed the VP of Security and Infrastructure, Marc White, to implement an overall security strategy. Marc has nearly 30 years of experience in payments and financial services from a security standpoint

The Solution

Built on the core technology of Google SecOps, SEP2’s Wingman MDR is delivered as a service by SEP2’s UK-based 24/7/365 staffed SOC. Wingman MDR brings detection and response capabilities to organisations of all sizes and types.

When Marc joined Funding Circle, he encountered the usual challenges of, “disparate tools and limited visibility. Often the term used is ‘You can’t see the wood for the trees’. Most organisations implement security tools and you’ve got different dashboards. The idea is you put them into a single place, and leverage expert resource such as the SEP2 SOC that actually understands that data and work with it on a daily basis. They can assess it case-by-case and escalate it back to us at Funding Circle only when necessary. And that whole process has been really, really smooth”

Finding SEP2

Marc had previously worked with Google Chronicle and was keen to find a trusted partner to deliver their technology. Google recommended SEP2 to him as a key partner within the UK, their endorsement a testament to SEP2’s exceptional capabilities and reputation in the industry.

Marc recalls that selecting SEP2 was an easy choice, as our values aligned with his own. His initial exchange with SEP2, coupled with the establishment of a genuine partnership based on shared values, made the decision to work with SEP2 “a bit of a no-brainer”.

Working with SEP2

Funding Circle found the onboarding process with SEP2 to be smooth and uncomplicated. Marc recognised that the most significant challenge was internal, stemming from the complex processes and systems that were in place at Funding Circle. The data was dispersed across various sections of their security stack, presenting a challenge. He required a solution that could consolidate this data into a single, accessible location. The integration of Wingman MDR was made straightforward by the combined efforts of SEP2’s SOC experts and Google, resulting in a seamless process and positive experience for the Funding Circle team.

Future and conclusion

Funding Circle’s collaboration with SEP2 has strengthened their security infrastructure, streamlined their tools and made their business more secure. As Funding Circle continues to grow, their partnership with SEP2 will remain a cornerstone of their commitment to safeguarding the businesses they serve.

Client Testimonial

“I’ve seen the whole transition of physical servers under a desk, that became a comms room, that then went on to be a data centre and then the transition of the cloud. I’ve come along as part of the journey.

You want to work with an organisation that’s got the same values, not just company values, but personal values. They’re people who have seen how things have been done badly – with some providers just wanting to sell you the next shiny thing. SEP2 completely flipped that on its head. It was just refreshing to be able to have a conversation and not be force-fed a silver bullet.”

Marc White, VP of Security and Infrastructure.

Testimonials

Hear From Those We Protect

You’re vendor agnostic, which is key for growth, and your team are providing really good insights in terms of the alerts raised. They also provide meaningful context behind them, which is great for us as an organisation,”

When we hit the limits of our knowledge, it’s having SEP2 there to say, ‘Try these things first.’ That expertise on hand is really important to us.

To have people like that around our account that we can pick the phone up to and ask questions was refreshing. Ultimately, we trusted SEP2 and we trust you with our cyber security.

Often the term used is ‘you can’t see the wood for the trees’. Most organisations implement security tooling tools and you’ve got different dashboards. The idea is you put them into a single place, and leverage expert resource such as the SEP2 SOC that actually understands that data and work with it on a daily basis. They can assess it case-by-case and escalate it back to us at Funding Circle only when necessary. And that whole process has been really, really smooth.

They are phenomenal: both personable and very knowledgeable. Our main contact is like a fountain of knowledge. If you ask him a question, he always comes back with ten answers – all the shades of grey, not just a ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’ To me that shows the level of passion he has, and that he really wants to do things properly.

The original group of people who founded SEP2 were very deep in their knowledge of this type of technology, which can be complicated. It’s become the whole field of firewalls, intrusion prevention, antivirus, ransomware, etc. Cyber security as a whole has really ballooned, and there’s lots of dimensions to it, but you’ve managed to keep up.

During the evaluation process it was clear to me that SEP2 were the strongest candidate from a technical standpoint. During our first meeting, their ability to give immediate solutions to ongoing issues we were experiencing at the time was a breath of fresh air.

SEP2 are knowledgeable, motivated and switched on; they take ownership and they have a drive for resolution. They know their stuff! They are not merely a firewall partner, they are a cyber security partner. They take a strategic approach. They are approachable and offer additional value outside of their support contract. Working with SEP2 means we are no longer fire-fighting; rather we can now take a step back and proactively get things sorted. SEP2 say they are tech driven and people powered, and that’s exactly what they are! It all comes down to the people you are dealing with.

They live and breathe the technology. It comes from the top, however, everyone is an expert within SEP2, from sales through to the service desk. We don’t want to wait to be told what more we can get from vendors’ products. SEP2 are great in pro-actively helping us achieve value-add solutions. They aren’t about chasing revenues, they are about providing best possible value.