LendInvest and Pepper UK announce industry first partnership

By Bridging Loan Directory 27th March 2017

LendInvest, the online mortgage lender, and Pepper UK, one of the country’s leading specialist loan servicing companies, have agreed to form what is believed to be the industry’s first partnership between a UK online property finance marketplace and an outsourced loan servicing business.

Under the terms of the partnership, Pepper UK will take responsibility for servicing all new loans originated by the LendInvest team. The LendInvest team will service existing loans until the autumn at which point these loans will be migrated to the Pepper team for continuity of service. All loans that require special servicing (e.g. arrears or expiries) will continue to be handled by the LendInvest team.

Pepper UK is one of the country’s leading specialist loan servicing companies acting for a number of major investment and banking institutions. It is part of the Pepper Group, a major listed Australian company that manages over £32 billion of assets across its servicing and lending businesses on behalf of 600,000 customers around the world.

LendInvest borrowers and their advisers can expect to see numerous benefits of the partnership. For instance, interest can be now calculated daily, rather than monthly. Additionally, collaboration with Pepper supports LendInvest’s long-term strategy to bring to market an expanded range of tailored loan products that suit borrowers’ requirements at all stages of their property investment or development projects.

LendInvest is the only UK online marketplace to have been rated twice (2015 & 2016) by Arc Ratings, a regulated European credit rating agency, receiving both times the highest possible rating for the quality of its loan servicing.

Christian Faes, Co-Founder & CEO of LendInvest, said:

“Collaborating with a hugely experienced loan servicing business like Pepper marks an important stage of development for the LendInvest business. Not only does working with Pepper improve our own operational efficiencies, but the partnership promises significant benefits for both borrowers and investors. For instance, borrowers will have access to a deeply experienced and dedicated team of servicers throughout the term of their loans. Investors too will be comforted to know that our loans are serviced by a highly experienced and regulated servicer, making it easier for institutions in particular to invest in whole portfolios of loans.“

Richard Klemmer, CEO of Pepper UK, added:

“We have worked very closely with the LendInvest team as it has expanded over the past twelve months and are confident that with Pepper on board, the service and experience received today by LendInvest clients will only be enhanced by our long-term partnership.”

This collaboration comes after a number of new product launches at LendInvest including refurbishment loans, auction finance and development exit loans.