SoMo hikes rates

Bridging lender SoMo has increased its rates of return by one per cent for the month of July, meaning investors can up to 11.5 per cent per annum on certain new loans.

SoMo is now offering rates of 11 per cent to 11.5 per cent on second charge 70 per cent loan-to-value (LTV) loans, and rates of 9.6 per cent to 10.2 per cent on first charge 70 per cent LTV loans.

Louis Alexander (pictured), SoMo’s founder and chief executive, said that the firm had decided to pass on successive base rate rises to its investors, but added that the 11.5 per cent higher rate of return “may be temporary”.

“We’ll keep it under review as we monitor the current economic and fiscal climate,” he said.

Read more: SoMo reports record month in May thanks to borrower promotion

SoMo has been busy of late, having recently expanded its team to support its growing loan volumes.

Yesterday, the firm announced that it had hired James Brocklebank as relationship director for the Midlands and East, as well as Salman Ali and Harvey Wood as underwriters.

The appointments come after the lender’s latest full-year results revealed an increase in profits and turnover.

Pre-tax profit increased to £6.4m for the year to 31 March 2022, up from £4.8m the previous year, while turnover rose to £18.9m from £12.9m.

SoMo has lent out £264m to date.