Peer-to-peer lending giant Zopa confirms £32m fundraise
Zopa scoops £32m in a new investment round led by Indian conglomerate Wadhawan Group, as it looks ahead to bank-build. Zopa, the UK’s original peer-to-peer lending platform, has clinched £32m in its first investment round since early 2014, when it raised £15m from Arrowgrass Capital Partners. The money will be used to help build-out the firm’s technology and product range in preparation for the submission of its banking licence application later this year. The investment round has been led by India’s Wadhawan Global Capital Pvt Ltd and European venture capital fund Northzone. Northzone is also an investor in leading invoice finance platform MarketInvoice. Zopa co-founder Giles Andrews currently serves and […]
Almost 40% of Growth Street investors are millennials
Growth Street has revealed that 37.4% of its investors are under the age of 35. The figures go against the views of those who have claimed millennials do not think about saving and investment. Growth Street felt simple digital interfaces and investment products offered by alternative lenders were aimed at giving younger people greater investment flexibility than ever before. Greg Carter, CEO of Growth Street, explained that millennials had traditionally been underserved by conventional investment products. “In the past, investment products have targeted older individuals with higher disposable incomes, but Growth Street is turning this convention on its head. “We’re delighted to see that almost 40% of our investors are […]
Banco BNI Europa makes €10M investment in Portuguese peer-to-peer platform Raize
Banco BNI Europa has signed a strategic agreement with Portugal’s largest peer-to-peer lender RAIZE to boost lending to SMEs in the country. The online challenger bank is looking to invest €10 million over a two year period. The Portuguese economy has experienced strong GDP growth of 2.8% in the 1st quarter of 2017 and in 2016 captured the largest amount of foreign direct investment in the last 20 years. Pedro Coelho, Executive Chairman of BNI Europa said: “The bank is extremely committed to supporting SMEs in the European space. Our partnerships with Raize and MarketInvoice are just some of the initiatives the bank is promoting with fintech businesses and more […]
Online lender RateSetter valued at over £200 million as it raises £13 million to launch new ISAs
RateSetter, one of the UK’s three biggest peer-to-peer lenders, said on Tuesday it has raised £13 million in equity funding from its existing shareholders. City fund managers Woodford Investment Management and Artemis were both existing investors and took part in the funding round. The funding will be put towards launching its new “Innovative Finance ISA,” a new product that will allow consumers to hold peer-to-peer loans in an ISA. RateSetter plans to launch the product once it receives full authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority. RateSetter is the last of the UK’s “Big 3” peer-to-peer lenders waiting for sign-off from the City watchdog. Founded in 2010, RateSetter allows ordinary people […]
Robo-advice platform completes £2m funding round
MortgageGym, which according to its creators is the world’s only regulated mortgage robo-adviser, has completed a £2m seed funding round ahead of its launch. The platform has raised over £1.3m in cash and technology development finance through deals with fintech investors Gaby Salem of Wharton Asset Management, China Pacific Capital and Trifecta Capital. MortgageGym expects to announce its strategic distribution partnerships within the next three months, and its official launch is set for the summer. The FCA-authorised service will allow homebuyers to complete their mortgage application online in 15 minutes through a free, hybrid advice website offering mortgage eligibility matching within 60 seconds, regulated robo-advice and access to live advisers. […]
Online lending startup Earnest said to look for a buyer
Earnest Inc., the financial-technology startup backed by venture capital firms including Andreessen Horowitz, is looking for a buyer as the market for peer-to-peer lending matures, and it struggles to raise new funds. The San Francisco-based company, which offers student loan refinancing as well as personal loans, is shopping itself for about $100 million, according to people familiar with the matter. Earnest last raised $75 million in equity and $200 million in debt in 2015, bringing the total to just over $300 million since it was founded in 2013, according to research firm CB Insights. The most recent equity financing was led by Battery Ventures, and the debt was led by […]
Lendy hits £300m investment mark
The slowdown in bank lending prompted by the Brexit vote has helped Lendy hit the £300m investment mark in April, having channelled £50m to property borrowers in the last 100 days alone. With new loans on the peer-to-peer platform often up to five times oversubscribed, the firm was able to add three larger-size loans over the last three months, it told Peer2Peer Finance News. It directed £7.5m to the purchase and redevelopment of a commercial building in Marylebone, £5.7m to the development of a major residential building on Liverpool’s waterfront and £2.4m to the development of a major student accommodation complex in Huddersfield. The firm said it was able to […]
MarketInvoice secures £45m from Banco BNI Europa
UK-based MarketInvoice has signed an agreement with Banco BNI Europa (BNI), which will now provide £45 million annually to fund working capital for SMEs on the platform. MarketInvoice is now the world’s largest peer-to-peer online invoice finance marketplace, having funded over 70,000 invoices worth more than £1.2 billion since its launch in 2011. Today, the UK business has signed an agreement with Banco BNI Europa (BNI), which will now provide £45 million in funding annually on the marketplace to fund working capital for MarketInvoice customers. BNI trialled an investment last year of £28.3 million, which went into funding SMEs on the platform seeking invoice finance. After the success of that […]
