EstateGuru identifies UK as ‘key growth market’
EstateGuru has hailed the UK among its sources of future growth.
The European peer-to-peer property lending platform, which provides funding across Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Germany, entered the UK market in March.
Mihkel Stamm, chief operating officer for EstateGuru, said the Baltics are still its stronghold but added that new markets are the source of future growth.
“Already in 2021, we were able to extensively grow our volumes in Germany,” he said.
“As it is still a new market, we continue careful monitoring of the portfolio and are ready to make quick adjustments to our credit rules, if necessary.
“Preparations in the UK were completed and operations were set up in Manchester to kick off lending in 2022.
“A business development manager was hired in Spain as we continue seeking new opportunities and creating the bridge to southern Europe.”
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He said the launch of the UK office in 2022 would help EstateGuru create a bridge between the UK and continental Europe and the platform is also exploring expansion into three additional countries.
The platform plans to raise monthly lending volumes from around €20m (£17m) to around €30m to €40m.
It comes as EstateGuru released its annual report for 2021.
The report showed €203m of loans were funded through the platform during the year, 69 per cent up on 2020.
Revenue was up 58 per cent annually to €7.1m in 2021 but EstateGuru posted a pre-tax loss of €2.1m amid higher operating expenses and staff costs.
“Our industry is also changing rapidly and, in many ways, becoming a mature and established investment option,” Marek Pärtel, chair of EstateGuru, said.
“What was also remarkable about 2021, is that we are finally operating in a regulated environment. We welcomed the introduction of pan-European crowdfunding regulation and we’re hoping to be among the very first companies to receive the new licence.”
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