Proplend opens commercial mortgage range to personal borrowers
PROPLEND has opened up its product range to personal owners of commercial property.
The peer-to-peer property lender – which specialises in secured commercial property mortgages and bridging loans for corporate borrowers – previously only lent to limited companies, partnerships and special purpose vehicles (SPVs).
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Stewart Bruce, business development manager at Proplend, said the move would boost the funding options for borrowers and the investment opportunities for lenders.
The first investment for a personal borrower went live at 12pm on Wednesday and was secured against a mixed-use commercial building in Fulham, London.
“We’ve received numerous enquiries in the past from individuals looking for funding for their commercial investment property and we expect to get many more going forward,” Bruce said.
“To date we’ve only been able to help when the property is held in an SPV, so it’s an exciting development for lenders and creditworthy personal borrowers alike that we can start bringing these loans to the platform. It should make a big difference.”
The platform has seen its loanbook grow to £60m since launch in 2014, with no losses so far.
It hired former Morgan Stanley executive Matt Carson as its first chief operating officer in January.