PeerStreet files for bankruptcy in the US
Real estate crowdfunding platform PeerStreet has filed for bankruptcy in the US, ten years after its launch.
The property lender said that it now aims to sell substantially all of its assets, including its mortgage loan assets and tech platform in order to maximise the value for its shareholders.
According to the bankruptcy petition, the platform’s majority shareholder is venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, with a 21 per cent share. Chief executive Brew Johnson owns approximately 14 per cent of the firm, while investment fund World Innovation Lab has a roughly 13 percent interest.
Read more: European P2P sector forecast to become more competitive
PeerStreet was founded in the US in 2013 as a peer-to-peer property lender. At the time of its bankruptcy filing it was believed to have up to 10,000 retail investors.
The company said that in total it owes between $50m (£39.65m) and $100m to between 100 and 199 creditors.
All but two of the company’s 20 largest unsecured creditors are retail investors, with claims ranging from $726,000 to $33.9m each. The other top 20 unsecured creditors include the Small Business Administration, which is owed $3.78m, and Chicago-based Invigorate Finance, which is owed $3.3m.
Read more: P2P returns predicted to go down as market grows
PeerStreet said that it plans to sell its assets “in a series of transactions intended to maximize value for all of PeerStreet’s stakeholders.”
It is believed that rapidly-rising interest rates were behind the firm’s failure. In a 2022 performance update, PeerStreet said that its outlook was promising despite a “wild year.”
Read more: Varengold AGM postponed as audit continues