ThinCats announces closure of retail P2P lending platform
THINCATS is to close its retail peer-to-peer lending platform to focus on institutional funding.
The business lender, which traded as ThinCats but is regulated under its registered company name of Business Loan Network (BLN), follows in the footsteps of buy-to-let platform Landbay which last week exited the retail market.
The platform said no new loans will be offered on the P2P platform and it will be run-down and closed to new investors.
Investors already using the P2P Platform will continue to receive interest and capital repayments on the loans that they hold in the usual way. All existing systems, controls and staff will remain in place to ensure investors’ interest and capital is collected when due or otherwise actively recovered.
However, investors have been told they can no longer sell loans on the platform’s secondary market and those invested in ThinCats’ diversified portfolios will have to wait for their funds to mature.
Efforts will still be made to recover funds from non-performing loans, ThinCats said.
Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA) investors will also be contacted about moving their funds to a different tax wrapper provider.
Read more: ThinCats unveils £100m funding programme for UK SMEs
The ThinCats Group will continue to support the funding of UK small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through its institutional lending products.
“The number of loans funded by the P2P Platform has fallen significantly over the last two years and it is no longer cost effective or practicable to raise funds in this way,” Jill Sandford, chief executive of BLN, said.
“We have, therefore, made the decision to close the P2P platform to new business and initiate a run-off process for existing investors.
“The controlled run-off of the P2P platform will ensure that there is no impact on the returns or service levels that existing investors will receive.
“The ThinCats Group will continue to support the funding of mid-sized UK businesses through its institutional funding products.”
Read more: More firms withdrawing P2P regulatory applications
