The research showed that 114 lenders had seeked FCA authorisation since the start of April 2014 when the FCA took over the regulation of the consumer credit industry.
So far seven P2P lenders have been authorised.
Gillian Roche-Saunders, Head of Venture Finance at Bovill, said: “The FCA have their work cut out for them to meet the current wave of demand from the P2P lending sector.”
“It’s difficult to see how the FCA can be expected to authorise such a large number of firms in a timely manner, as well as ensuring that the approval process is done thoroughly, unless the Government is prepared to throw increased resources at the regulator.
“If that doesn’t happen, it’s likely we’ll see some P2P lenders waiting for months to get authorised, and that could mean many viable businesses may not get off the ground.”
Bovill says the large number of firms seeking authorisation is likely to have caught the regulator by surprise and questioned how well it can cope with the rise in demand.
178 firms have obtained interim permission, allowing existing P2P lenders to continue to operate, and many of these expect to receive full authorisation.
Experts estimate the P2P industry will be worth up to £315bn globally by 2020, up from the £1.2bn that was lent using P2P sites in the UK last year.
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