SANCUS BMS Group, the peer-to-peer business lender, has drawn down the first tranche of funding provided by the Honeycomb Investment Trust (HIT) for use on its platform. The GLI Finance subsidiary will use £17.5m from Honeycomb’s funding facility to expand its property-backed lending activities. “When we announced that HIT had provided a substantial funding line […]
INVESTMENT in fintech ventures reached another all-time high in 2017, buoyed by a surge in funding for start-ups in the UK, US and India, research reveals. The analysis by professional services company Accenture found global fintech financing rose 18 per cent in 2017 to US$27.4bn (£19.7bn). Deal values almost quadrupled in the UK to an all-time […]
BRITAIN’S small- and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are being let down by a lack of guidance on how to start exporting, Growth Street has claimed. The peer-to-peer business lender said that the lack of information could potentially block any post-Brexit ambitions despite a booming global economy. The platform surveyed more than 1,100 UK firms and found 65 […]
BANCO BNI Europa is eyeing up further deals in the alternative finance space to diversify its portfolio and widen its product offering for clients. The Portuguese online bank has announced several funding deals over the past year, including peer-to-peer lenders Funding Circle in Germany and Raize in Portugal, and UK P2P invoice finance platform MarketInvoice. […]
A FINTECH venture capital firm that has a stake in Zopa has surpassed a £500,000 fundraising target for a new investment company in the first 24 hours. Augmentum Capital, which has a 7.4 per cent holding in peer-to-peer lender Zopa worth £18.5m, is looking to raise £100m through an initial public offering (IPO) alongside a […]
RATESETTER is opening up its Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA) to new investors on Thursday, meaning that two out of the ‘big three’ lenders will be offering the tax wrapper outside of their existing customer base. Industry onlookers argue that the IFISA will only begin to move into the mainstream once the largest P2P platforms offer the […]
COLLATERAL investors were left in the dark this week after the peer-to-peer lending platform shut down its website and became uncontactable, amid questions over the firm’s regulatory status. The Manchester-based firm shut down its website on Monday and displayed a message saying: “We are currently in the process of upgrading our servers and our network […]
ALMOST two thirds of consumers only use one type of ISA product to earn interest on their money tax-free, research suggests. A poll by challenger bank Aldermore found that 62 per cent of people are not choosing to diversify despite a plethora of ISA options, which include cash, stocks and shares and the Innovative Finance […]
THE MAJORITY of UK consumers are still unaware of Open Banking, according to new research. The data-sharing scheme, which was launched in January this year, mirrors the EU’s Payment Services Directive II, mandating high street banks to share anonymised customer data with third parties, including peer-to-peer lenders. The research, commissioned by challenger bank CYBG and carried […]
A NEW crypto-backed peer-to-peer lending platform is looking to launch with the help of an initial coin offering (ICO). Lendingblock, which lets individuals lend in a range of digital currencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple, is looking to raise a minimum of $10m (£7m) for its LND token. The tradeable token will be used […]
THE MAYOR of London’s early-stage tech investment fund has announced the addition of several mentors to help fast-growing tech businesses in the capital. The London Co-Investment Fund (LCIF), which has invested in 103 tech start-ups to date, aims to help bridge the funding gap in the London tech ecosystem. It said on Tuesday that successful […]
THE INNOVATIVE fintech firms that have revitalised the financial services sector now rely on finding a partner from the traditional financial institutions in order to succeed. The World Fintech Report 2018 from consulting firm Capgemini and corporate networking website LinkedIn found that more than 75 per cent of fintech firms cite collaborating with incumbent firms […]
THE FIRST UK finance provider has joined European lending marketplace Mintos. 1pm is an Aim-listed alternative finance provider that lends to UK small- and medium-sized enterprises through its subsidiary companies. It offers a range of business finance solutions including asset finance, hire purchase, commercial loans, invoice finance and factoring. Latvia-headquartered Mintos enables people and institutions […]
THE FINANCIAL Conduct Authority (FCA) has urged consumer credit firms to ensure their lending is “affordable and sustainable” as its boss described taking over regulation of the sector as the City watchdog’s biggest challenge to date. Andrew Bailey (pictured), chief executive of the FCA, is expected to tell the The Finance and Leasing Association annual […]
RATESETTER is funding the legal costs of people’s divorces as part of its personal loans offering. The ‘big three’ peer-to-peer lender has been offering a family finance product for a number of months, whereby individuals can apply for a loan to pay for their divorce litigation. RateSetter previously lent to divorce funder Novitas as part […]