As well as landing a £1.7 million commercial loan yesterday, the peer-to-peer lender, Assetz Capital, filled auctions for two bridging loans at £600,000 and £285,000 within five minutes each, resulting in a total of £2.6 million in closed auctions in one day.
Stuart Law, Chief Executive Officer and founder of Assetz Capital said: “We've been considering bridging loans, or short term lending options for businesses, ever since we first launched, but it's not an area to be entered into lightly. We've taken the time to assemble a strong team and the first bridging loans that we've launched have been funded extremely quickly, often in minutes, showing that it's an area that people investing through our platform are interested in.
"It's our belief that good quality bridging loans provide a lifeline for business in need of short term finance, but it's clearly a market in need of shaking up. Rightly or wrongly, the bridging industry in general suffers from a reputation problem, but peer-to-peer lending and the transparency that it brings could go some way to solving this perception.”
With its team nearing 15 members, Assetz Capital plan to appoint their Head of Bridging next week on the 1st of December. The senior role is said to be filled by a figure well known to the bridging industry.
The P2P platform launched into bridging merely two weeks ago with a focus on first charge residential deals.
On its £600,000 bridging loan, Assetz Capital provided a 75 per cent Loan to Value and a 1.25 per cent monthly interest rate. Its £285,000 loan received a 68 per cent Loan to Value with a 1 per cent interest rate.
Assetz Capital who often liaises with bridging packagers, intends to develop its relationship and understanding with all its brokers.
However, according to Stuart, the lender has a firm ‘one strike and you’re out’ policy. This applies to brokers found to have not sufficiently informed Assetz Capital, the rule was actioned with one broker last week.
In October, Assetz Capital hit £6 million in completed loans and by the end of this week its total is predicted to rest at £8.5 million.
The P2P lender will finish the year at a minimum of £10 million and it is estimated that by the end of 2014 its total will have surged to £100 million.
Stuart explains that the £100 million target is dependent on two aspects: possible public funding and an increased interest from large organisations.
He added the £90 million Assetz Capital has placed by its 65,000 high net worth investors means that it is a through and through principal lender.
The £1.75 million 3-year interest-only commercial loan was funded within 7 days with 79 per cent LTV and an annual rate of 13 per cent.
In light of their new venture, the P2P lender is set to join both the Association of Bridging Professionals (AOBP) and the Association of Short Term Lenders (astl).
The identity of Assetz Capital’s new Head of Bridging is to be on revealed on B&C early next week.
1 Comments
Rich
So let me get this right. Our clients are going to be paraded on a website whilst members of the public put £50 each into a pot in order to make up the loan? All personal info, valuation, full names and address? This must surely be one of the daftest ideas I have ever seen. Every broker will be joining just to see all the deals and pitch for the loan. Mad Mad Mad!