THE weak value of the pound could spell good news for the UK’s P2P sector, a leading economist has told Peer-to-Peer Finance News. Professor Vicky Pryce has predicted a P2P boost as small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) seek to borrow money to fund new growth opportunities. “For P2P and banks there are some areas of […]
OCTOPUS Choice is planning to launch a new portal in the Autumn that will help independent financial advisers (IFAs) to manage their clients’ investments on the peer-to-peer platform more easily. The P2P platform, which was launched in April by fund management firm Octopus Investments, offers secured, short-term residential property loans, usually between six and 18 […]
UK BOND Network has agreed to lend £3.5m to a specialist vehicle finance provider for Uber, as the taxi app says its drivers cannot afford to buy their own cars. The peer-to-peer bond auction platform, which allows investors to buy secured bonds issued by UK businesses, created a financing structure that Upfront Car Finance can […]
THE LENDING Club scandal was good for peer-to-peer investment funds, according to Ranger Direct Lending’s Bill Kassul. The investment manager of the peer-to-peer focused fund told Peer-to-Peer Finance News that since the governance debacle at the US P2P lender, platforms who previously refused to comply with Ranger’s criteria are coming back to the negotiating table. […]
TWELVE companies are now authorised to offer Innovative Finance ISAs (IFISAs), but the ‘big eight’ peer-to-peer lenders are still waiting. A HMRC spokesperson confirmed to Peer-to-Peer Finance News that “as of 31 August, 12 [companies] are approved to offer IFISAs”. Since the IFISA tax wrapper was launched in April this year, only a handful of […]
RATESETTER has seen a surge of new investment since interest rates were cut one month ago, fueling hopes that more investors will turn to peer-to-peer lenders as the 0.25 per cent base rate is held for a second month. The platform told Peer-to-Peer Finance News that it has seen twice as many new investor accounts being […]
PEER-TO-PEER funds are performing better than their share prices suggest and could present an opportunity for canny investors. A number of P2P-focused investment trusts listed in London have seen their market value plummet in the wake of the uncertainty caused by the Brexit vote. P2P Global Investments (P2P) and VPC Specialty Lending (VSL) are trading […]
THE BASE rate is likely to remain at 0.25 per cent for at least another month, boosting investor interest in the peer-to-peer sector, a leading economist has predicted. Professor Vicky Pryce told Peer-to-Peer Finance News that she expects the Bank of England to “take a breath” before changing the base rate again, and this could […]
THE UK’S peer-to-peer finance sector will see a long-awaited flurry of M&A activity over the next few years, the chief executive of a technology-focused investment bank has said. The industry has not experienced any significant consolidation yet, but the conventional banking sector is starting to take fintech much more seriously, according to Jason Purcell, CEO […]
RANGER Direct Lending, the US-focused peer-to-peer investment fund, today said it has seen both its monthly net asset value and dividend increase over the first half of the year. The London-listed trust, which floated last May, posted net profit of $9.94m (£7.5m) over the period. The fund, which invests primarily in small businesses, real estate […]
LANDBAY has said it is not planning to lower its borrower rates, despite a number of its high-street rivals slashing their buy-to-let mortgage rates over the past week. The peer-to-peer platform, which focuses on buy-to-let mortgage loans, told Peer-to-Peer Finance News that “we don’t foresee any material change to our average borrower rates”. TMW and […]
ONE fifth of small- and medium- sized enterprises (SMEs) are looking to peer-to-peer financing to fund their growth, a new study has found. According to the latest C2FO Working Capital Outlook Survey, almost one in five (18 per cent) of Europe- and US-based SMEs are already using P2P lending, while 20 per cent are using […]
PEER-TO-PEER platforms will continue to see strong growth from small business borrowers, according to the Federation of Small Businesses. “P2P has been a very positive story for us,” Ben Baruch, policy advisor for finance, tax and economy at the FSB, told Peer-to-Peer Finance News. “Our latest small business index for the second quarter showed that […]
PEER-TO-PEER loan fund Funding Circle SME Income (FCIF) cheered investors today with news that it will be issuing a dividend of 1.625p per share, in a bumpy year for the sector’s investment trusts. The dividend, which will be paid to shareholders on 31 October, is in line with the company’s previously announced plan to pay […]
UNCERTAINTY over the post-Brexit economy represents an “unprecedented opportunity” for the alternative finance sector to support domestic growth, according to one peer-to-peer lender. Chirag Shah, chief executive of Nucleus Commercial Finance, told Peer-to-Peer Finance News that the P2P sector has a role to play in strengthening and stabilising the economy after the EU referendum. “P2P lenders can […]