CrowdProperty enjoys most profitable year to date
CrowdProperty reported a 43 per cent rise in revenue and a 214 per cent increase in operating profit in its latest annual results, but said it will be “acting with caution” going forward due to continued macro uncertainty.
The residential development lending platform posted operating profit of £1.184m for the year ended 31 March 2023, up from £377,000 the previous year.
“This is the third consecutive, and most profitable year for CrowdProperty, despite ongoing long-term investment in future scalability and talent,” the firm said in its annual results, filed with Companies House.
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Loan volumes grew by 48 per cent year-on-year in the first half of the latest financial year but slowed in the second half, which CrowdProperty attributed to market uncertainty after the mini-budget.
The lender said that finance applications in the second half of the year “gestated for longer in the pipeline” as developers kept a close eye on the moving macro environment.
CrowdProperty secured new sources of funding during the last financial year, adding a UK bank and British Business Investments – the commercial arm of the British Business Bank – to its list of institutional partners.
Looking forward, the company warned of “continued macro uncertainty and potentially a recessionary environment” and said it will be acting with caution as a result.
“Whilst a recession dampens the demand-side, there will be ongoing supply-side shortages, constraints in housing and an ongoing demand for well-secured, well-originated returns,” it said.
“As CrowdProperty continues to manage capital in the same prudent way as in the past and further enhances the expert portfolio and recoveries teams, the market presents opportunity for CrowdProperty to continue to grow and build an ever-stronger market share position in the fragmented development finance market.”
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CrowdProperty expanded its team to 48 employees in the latest financial year, up from 45 previously.
CrowdProperty was founded in 2013 and started lending in 2014, providing residential property development finance for SME developers. It has lent over £370m to date, repaying over £220m to investors with average realised returns of 7.96 per cent.