Zopa, which became the first peer-to-peer lender in Britain when it opened in 2005, is working with JPMorgan (>> JPMorgan Chase & Co.) on the fundraising that could value the company at more than 500 million pounds, Sky reported earlier on Friday.

Zopa is looking to raise around 70 million pounds, the report said.

A spokesman for the company declined to comment. JPMorgan declined to comment.

Peer-to-peer lending has grown rapidly in Britain since the 2007-9 financial crisis, providing an alternative source of finance to individuals and small firms as banks have cut back on lending partly because of tougher regulatory demands.

Zopa has been through four fundraising rounds previously, the most recent in 2014, with investment firm Arrowgrass investing $ 24 million in the business. It has organised more than 1 billion pounds in lending since its launch.

The peer-to-peer lender appointed Jaidev Janardana as chief executive in August, taking over from Giles Andrews, who became executive chairman.

In May, it reached an agreement with Metro Bank to offer the bank's loans through its online marketplace.

(Reporting by Emiliano Mellino and Freya Berry. Editing by Pamela Barbaglia and Jane Merriman)