MoneyThing posts record month ahead of 2017 IFISA launch
MONEYTHING is on track to boost its loan origination ahead of an Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA) launch later this year, after delivering its highest new loan monthly level to date in May.
The peer-to-peer lending platform launched £7.7m of new loan opportunities last month, which marks its strongest result since it launched in February 2015, and £3.7m more than its previous record.
While the firm is focusing heavily on building up its borrower base, it has also decided to move plans for an Innovative Finance ISA up its priority list.
It now aims to roll out the tax-free wrapper by the end of the year, although the launch will not be imminent, a company representative told Peer2Peer Finance News.
Despite receiving full authorisation by the Financial Conduct Authority in March, MoneyThing had previously said it was in no rush to launch an IFISA as it needed to work on matching healthy investor inflows with good quality loan deals.
“It still needs to make overall sense for us,” the firm’s business development director Sophie Pearce said on Tuesday.
“Besides, we are not concerned about seeing a decrease in demand for not rushing to launch an ISA.”
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The firm’s future wrapper may include a flexibility option, meaning investors would be able to withdraw and replace funds in the same tax year.
“We are exploring all options at the moment, nothing is off the table yet,” said Pearce.
As part of its current strive to boost lending, the platform hired former Santander’s real estate specialist Sebastiano Carrelli as head of UK property in May, and recently became member of the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB).
Pearce added that the firm is currently expanding its core property proposition, mainly in the bridging finance space but also in the development loan segment.