Assetz Capital restarts retail lending

Manual Lending Account investors take advantage of £1 million bridging loan

Marketplace lender Assetz Capital has restarted retail lending with a £1 million residential bridging loan that was funded in under two hours.

The £1.06 million residential bridging loan is secured against eight luxury apartments in Hillsborough, Northern Ireland. It is the first of a number that will be made available for users of the Manual Lending Account in the coming weeks. This first loan offered investors a gross interest rate of 9%.  

Recently Assetz Capital has also re-commenced lending to SMEs and housebuilders across the UK under the new Government CBILs scheme using institutional funding lines. It had temporarily paused new retail lending following the initial economic shock of the pandemic. The speed at which the Manual Lending Account loan was funded indicates significant latent appetite from retail investors which the marketplace lender is aiming to satisfy.

Stuart Law, CEO at Assetz Capital said: "While we've been very active in recent months with preparing and recently launching our CBILs lending, this Manual Lending Account bridging loan is an important milestone. Retail investors are the lifeblood of our marketplace, and the update of this first bridging loan vindicates our decision to restart retail lending alongside institutional.

“With the possibility of negative interest rates on the horizon and a rollercoaster stock market with dividends being slashed, we still firmly believe peer-to-peer lending is a vital alternative investment class that sits well in a balanced investment portfolio. Not only that, but we are able to directly support SMEs and in turn jobs and the wider economy through this investment. We feel that investments such as ours will continue to attract a growing share of investors’ capital over years to come.” 

- September 21, 2020