easyMoney’s live loan book hits £200m
easyMoney’s live loan book has hit the £200m milestone, as the peer-to-peer property lending platform eyes sustainable growth.
The firm – which facilitates bridging and development loans backed by UK property – ended last year with its live loan book valued at £174m, demonstrating a substantial uptick in the first half of 2024 despite challenging market conditions.
“To reach the £200m milestone is a great achievement for us and we’re incredibly proud to have funded over £380m of loans in that time,” says Jason Ferrando, chief executive of easyMoney.
“To date, we’ve had no investor losses*, and this is predominantly down to our thorough underwriting and a low loan-to-value across the book. We’re also continually looking to improve our proposition and user experience which prevents complacency in what has become an increasingly competitive sector.”
easyMoney plays a vital role in supporting developers in the UK property market, who are in greater need of funding since banks retrenched their lending in an uncertain macroeconomic environment.
The platform simultaneously provides bumper returns for investors who can benefit from a more diversified portfolio. Investors are offered the opportunity to earn monthly interest, and to reinvest it automatically to enjoy the benefits of compound interest.
Additionally, easyMoney investors can protect their earnings from taxation by shielding their money within an Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA)**. Last year, easyMoney was named IFISA Provider of the Year at the Peer2Peer Finance Awards. Today, more than £82m is invested within the easyMoney IFISA.
“The tax-free aspect of an IFISA investment is one that is massively beneficial to investors, not to mention the option to compound the interest,” Ferrando adds.
A common investor concern about private markets is illiquidity, but easyMoney has a buoyant secondary market that enables its users to buy and sell loans, depending on supply and demand.
The company’s statistics show that the average time to sell down an investment is less than a day since inception.
“The secondary market is really liquid, with investors sometimes receiving their money within an hour,” Ferrando explains.
“We undertook a survey of our investors and had fantastic feedback on the secondary market.
“I think our customers appreciate the fact that it does not come with any fees.”
easyMoney has been going from strength to strength. The £200m milestone comes just months after it was revealed that its investors have earned more than £30m in interest payments since the platform launched in 2018.
And the firm’s 2023 financial results showed an 86 per cent year-on-year rise in pre-tax profits to nearly £2.1m and an 18 per cent rise in revenue to £6.04m.
easyMoney is not resting on its laurels but is already eyeing its next milestone, to have lent out more than £400m to date by the end of 2024.
“To be able to have achieved so much in a challenging economic climate and break new milestones is a real testament to our team,” says Ferrando.
“We are now looking ahead to our next goal – to surpass £400m in the coming months. This is only possible due to the loyalty and passion of our investor base and the support of our borrowers.”
* A default rate of zero means so far easyMoney has never made a loss, but past performance does not guarantee future results.
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