Irish P2P lender Linked Finance hits €250m milestone

Linked Finance has surpassed the €250m (£214m) milestone in lending to Irish small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The peer-to-peer lending platform said it has issued more than €31.7m in loans in the first half of this year – almost 90 per cent more than the €16.8m in loans it issued during the same period last year.

Read more: Linked Finance increases loan size to half a million

“Reaching the €250m lending milestone reflects the trust and confidence that Irish SMEs have placed in Linked Finance as their preferred lending partner at a time when competition in the banking sector is decreasing,” said Niall O’Grady, chief executive of Linked Finance.

“With a strong focus on customer satisfaction and an outstanding team, the platform has built a reputation for providing fast and flexible financing options to businesses across a wide range of sectors. Our customer surveys show customer satisfaction ratings of 98 per cent for this year which ensures our customers return to the platform.”

The company is also expecting its busiest ever year, with €65m in loans forecast for 2023, representing an average growth of 50 per cent in each of the last three years.

Read more: Linked Finance launches merchant cash advance

Since launching in 2013, Linked Finance has lent to over 2,500 different SMEs through the facilitation of more than 3,800 loans. It said its average loan size has doubled to €115,000, reflecting higher quality applicants with a large percentage of return customers and a customer satisfaction rating of 98 per cent.

The company is looking to further expand its lending portfolio with a growing range of products and increased limits on existing products.

Linked Finance aims to grow annual new lending to €100m by 2025, with new products launching in 2024.

Read more: Linked Finance: Irish SMEs positive despite economic upheaval