Assetz Capital co-founder departs

ASSETZ Capital’s co-founder and chief credit officer Andrew Holgate (pictured) has left the peer-to-peer lender with immediate effect.

Holgate’s departure was revealed in Companies House filings that showed he had resigned his directorships in two Assetz Capital companies.

“Andrew Holgate has decided to leave the company with immediate effect to pursue new external opportunities,” chief executive Stuart Law told Peer2Peer Finance News via email.

Read more: Assetz Capital hires new chief risk officer

“Andrew has played an important role in the start-up and evolution of Assetz Capital since helping to co-found it in 2013 and I am grateful for his contribution and would like to wish him the best of luck as he takes up new challenges.”

Holgate co-founded Assetz Capital with Law in early 2013, as the first UK P2P lender to purely offer secured loans.

Its first deal was the country’s largest P2P transaction at the time, a £1.5m development loan funding a small purpose-built student accommodation block.

Read more: Assetz Capital sees £50m IFISA boost

Since then, Assetz has grown into the UK’s fourth-largest P2P lender. Its reported annual sales growth was 78 per cent over the past three years, earning it a spot in this year’s Sunday Times Hiscox Tech Track 100.

The peer-to-peer business lender was been ranked 53rd on the league table, which ranks the 100 fastest-growing private tech companies in the UK.

Prior to starting the Stockport-headquartered platform, Holgate held a variety of positions with banks and other financial services providers.

These included business manager with NatWest, risk manager at credit insurer Euler Hermes and a number of roles at Royal Bank of Scotland.

According to Holgate’s LinkedIn page, where he describes himself as an entrepreneur, accountant and banker, he is now on a sabbatical.

Read more: Assetz Capital boosts rates by 0.5 per cent