# James Binns

> James Binns is a funding round investor at Barclays Corporate Banking backing FinTech and Lending. See 2 investments, check sizes, portfolio. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: Angel Investor
- Fund: [Barclays Corporate Banking](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/barclays-plc)
- Location: London, United Kingdom
- Total investments: 2
- Last investment: May 2023
- Lead investor: 100%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-binns-29422056/

James Binns is a funding round investor at Barclays Corporate Banking in London focused on FinTech and Lending. James Binns is the Global Head of Trade and Working Capital for Barclays, which serves Corporate, NBFI and FI clients globally with teams located in UK, Europe, Americas, Asia and the Middle East. Prior to joining Barclays, James spent 4.5 years at Deutsche Bank where he headed Working Capital Advisory and Trade Finance for EMEA and latterly GlobalCross Product Solutions. This followed 20 years at HSBC where James was based across Asia Pacific, the Middle East, USA and UK in a number of senior Corporate Banking and Trade Finance roles.

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| FinTech | 1 | 50% |
| Lending | 1 | 50% |
| Software | 1 | 50% |
| Financial Services | 1 | 50% |
| Cloud Data Services | 1 | 50% |

7 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Funding Round | 1 | 50% |
| Debt Financing | 1 | 50% |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Trade Ledger | Trade Ledger, established in 2016, is a Corporate Lending Platform for better business lending that supports many lending categories including invoice funding, supply chain financing and debtor financing. | $3.7M | Debt Financing | May 25, 2023 |  |
| Validis | Validis is a cloud-based FinTech company with a unique software that increases a lender’s access to their client’s financial data. Validis technology enables high-speed transmission of financial data via the web, allowing lenders to receive and review client data securely and efficiently. The software retrieves data directly from an SME’saccounting software package and generates extensive analytics and standardized “audit-in-a-box” reports that lenders can access via Validis’ pluggable feed or online portal. Validis enables lenders to respond swiftly to initial funding applications, reducing the time it takes to onboard clients and subsequently increasing lending rates. Once clients are onboard, Validis provides lenders with performance monitoring and covenant breakdown notifications so they can continue to lend with confidence. |  |  |  |  |

2 of 2 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Citi](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/citigroup) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

## About Barclays Corporate Banking

VC Fund · London, United Kingdom

Barclays PLC is a global financial services company that provides various financial products and services worldwide. It is engaged in retail banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking, and wealth management with an extensive international presence in Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia.The company offers current accounts, savingsproducts, Woolwich-branded mortgages, unsecured loans, general insurance, and banking and money transmission services to small- and medium-sized businesses; investment and insurance products; business lending services; bank assurance solutions; and retail, credit and debit card, and corporate services. It also offers international payments services for consumer and business customers, including credit cards and consumer lending services; investment banking services comprising strategic advisory, financing, and risk management services to large corporate, government, and institutional clients; integrated corporate banking solutions, including cash management, lending, and trade financing services to corporate and financial institutions as well as multinationals; and a range of wealth and investment management services such as international and private banking, investment management, fiduciary, and brokerage services.With over 300 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 50 countries and employs more than 147,500 people. Barclays moves, lends, invests, and protects money of more than 48 million customers and clients worldwide.The company was formerly known as Barclays Bank Limited and changed its name to Barclays PLC in January 1985. It was founded in 1896 and is headquartered in London, United Kingdom.

5 contacts available at Barclays Corporate Banking.

| Name | Title | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- |
| James Binns | Managing Director, Global Head of Trade and Working Capital | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/james-binns-fb77 |
| Keith Ross | Head of Mid Corporate, Midlands Region | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/keith-ross |
| Steven Poulter | Head of Principal Structuring & Investments | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/steven-poulter |
| Alistair Currie | Head of Corporate Banking | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/alistair-currie-5aeb |
| Eric Bommensath | Co-Chief Executive, Corporate and Investment Banking | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/eric-bommensath |

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### Similar stage
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## FAQ

### What does James Binns invest in?

James Binns invests primarily in FinTech, Lending and Software startups, most often at Funding Round and Debt Financing stage. Most of the 2 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United Kingdom. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### When did James Binns last invest?

The most recent investment recorded for James Binns closed in May 2023. Shizune tracks 2 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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