LandlordInvest raises seed funding from Alan Gabbay, Director of O&H Properties
LandlordInvest, one of the first fully FCA authorised peer-to-peer lending platforms for residential mortgages, raises seed funding from Alan Gabbay, Director of O&H Properties, a London based privately owned property investment firm with assets valued at approximately £1 billion. LandlordInvest was launched at end of 2016 by founders Filip Karadaghi, Nikolajs Smirnovs and Joe Vallender and became the first peer-to-peer lending platform to offer a residential property-backed Innovative Finance ISA (“IFISA”) to UK savers, targeting tax-free returns of up to 12% per annum. The company’s achievements were recently highlighted by the industry as LandlordInvest was shortlisted as the “Crowdfunding Platform of the Year” at the PropertyWire Awards, holding off competition […]
Peer-to-peer lending giant Zopa confirms £32m fundraise
Zopa scoops £32m in a new investment round led by Indian conglomerate Wadhawan Group, as it looks ahead to bank-build. Zopa, the UK’s original peer-to-peer lending platform, has clinched £32m in its first investment round since early 2014, when it raised £15m from Arrowgrass Capital Partners. The money will be used to help build-out the firm’s technology and product range in preparation for the submission of its banking licence application later this year. The investment round has been led by India’s Wadhawan Global Capital Pvt Ltd and European venture capital fund Northzone. Northzone is also an investor in leading invoice finance platform MarketInvoice. Zopa co-founder Giles Andrews currently serves and […]
Almost 40% of Growth Street investors are millennials
Growth Street has revealed that 37.4% of its investors are under the age of 35. The figures go against the views of those who have claimed millennials do not think about saving and investment. Growth Street felt simple digital interfaces and investment products offered by alternative lenders were aimed at giving younger people greater investment flexibility than ever before. Greg Carter, CEO of Growth Street, explained that millennials had traditionally been underserved by conventional investment products. “In the past, investment products have targeted older individuals with higher disposable incomes, but Growth Street is turning this convention on its head. “We’re delighted to see that almost 40% of our investors are […]
Online lender RateSetter valued at over £200 million as it raises £13 million to launch new ISAs
RateSetter, one of the UK’s three biggest peer-to-peer lenders, said on Tuesday it has raised £13 million in equity funding from its existing shareholders. City fund managers Woodford Investment Management and Artemis were both existing investors and took part in the funding round. The funding will be put towards launching its new “Innovative Finance ISA,” a new product that will allow consumers to hold peer-to-peer loans in an ISA. RateSetter plans to launch the product once it receives full authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority. RateSetter is the last of the UK’s “Big 3” peer-to-peer lenders waiting for sign-off from the City watchdog. Founded in 2010, RateSetter allows ordinary people […]
Robo-advice platform completes £2m funding round
MortgageGym, which according to its creators is the world’s only regulated mortgage robo-adviser, has completed a £2m seed funding round ahead of its launch. The platform has raised over £1.3m in cash and technology development finance through deals with fintech investors Gaby Salem of Wharton Asset Management, China Pacific Capital and Trifecta Capital. MortgageGym expects to announce its strategic distribution partnerships within the next three months, and its official launch is set for the summer. The FCA-authorised service will allow homebuyers to complete their mortgage application online in 15 minutes through a free, hybrid advice website offering mortgage eligibility matching within 60 seconds, regulated robo-advice and access to live advisers. […]
Lendy hits £300m investment mark
The slowdown in bank lending prompted by the Brexit vote has helped Lendy hit the £300m investment mark in April, having channelled £50m to property borrowers in the last 100 days alone. With new loans on the peer-to-peer platform often up to five times oversubscribed, the firm was able to add three larger-size loans over the last three months, it told Peer2Peer Finance News. It directed £7.5m to the purchase and redevelopment of a commercial building in Marylebone, £5.7m to the development of a major residential building on Liverpool’s waterfront and £2.4m to the development of a major student accommodation complex in Huddersfield. The firm said it was able to […]
MarketInvoice secures £45m from Banco BNI Europa
UK-based MarketInvoice has signed an agreement with Banco BNI Europa (BNI), which will now provide £45 million annually to fund working capital for SMEs on the platform. MarketInvoice is now the world’s largest peer-to-peer online invoice finance marketplace, having funded over 70,000 invoices worth more than £1.2 billion since its launch in 2011. Today, the UK business has signed an agreement with Banco BNI Europa (BNI), which will now provide £45 million in funding annually on the marketplace to fund working capital for MarketInvoice customers. BNI trialled an investment last year of £28.3 million, which went into funding SMEs on the platform seeking invoice finance. After the success of that […]
Fintech lender RateSetter lands FTSE 100 heavyweight as new chairman
The chairman of global insurance giant Prudential is joining to board of online lender RateSetter as non-executive chairman. Paul Manduca will join the board of the peer-to-peer lender in June and will become chair on July 17 when current chairman Alan Hughes’ three-year term expires. The appointment represents a coup for RateSetter. Manduca is a well-established figure in the City, as the founding CEO of Threadneedle Asset Management, and the former CEO of Rothschild Asset Management and Deutsche Asset Management. As well as chairing Prudential, he currently chairs the Advisory Council of influential lobby group TheCityUK. The appointment of a veteran of public markets will likely fuel speculation that RateSetter […]
