GLI Finance sells off assets as part of strategic review

LOSS-MAKING investment firm GLI Finance has sold off a number of assets as part of its strategic review .

The London-quoted company, which invests in a range of alternative finance providers including peer-to-peer bond platform UK Bond Network, said on Monday that it has disposed of a number of assets to The SME Loan Fund (SMEF), including existing holdings in the loan note of a pharmaceutical company, a solar energy construction loan and stakes in two entities of SME-lending platform BMS Finance.

“This is in accordance with GLI’s stated strategy of lending ‘to’ the platforms and not ‘through’ the platforms and this transaction assists in removing the few remaining loans that we have on our balance sheet lent ‘through’ the platforms,” the company said in a regulatory filing.

As part of the deal, GLI will acquire from $800,000 (£621,000) of senior preferred stock in The Credit Junction, a lending platform, from SMEF. GLI will receive £1.55m in net proceeds from the deal, which it said it will use for “general corporate purposes”.

Last week, GLI posted a £6.9m first-half loss, which it attributed to an unwieldy investment strategy under former chief executive Geoff Miller. His replacement Andrew Whelan told Peer-to-Peer Finance News that his predecessor had gone on “a bit of a splurge” and bought too many platforms, leaving the business short of cash flow.

“We’ve looked at strategizing the business and ensuring that we are in a position to now expand going forward within the sectors and identify which are the winners in those platforms,” he added.