According to a recent research conducted by innovation charity Nesta in conjunction with the University of Cambridge, the UK’s alternative finance market – taking in crowdfunding, peer-to-peer lending and invoice trading – will reach a value of GBP 1.74 billion by the end of 2014.

Nesta’s study also finds that peer-to-peer business and consumer lending have continued to dominate the market, with GBP 749 million and GBP 547 million being lent through the models respectively in 2014 out of a total market size of GBP 1.2 billion.

The report indicates that equity crowdfunding has also seen a particular boost, with investments totalling GBP 84 million in 2014 so far – a 201% increase from 2013.

The research also points out that if the figures prove correct, alternative finance will account for the equivalent of 2.4% of total bank lending to small and medium-sized firms by the end of 2014, with this proportion set to increase as bank lending continues to fall.

Finally, the study points out that more than half (58%) of UK consumers surveyed in the report said they have heard of a type of alternative finance, with 1 in 7 saying they had used an alternative finance platform to seek, lend or donate funds.