£7.9m P2P repayment believed to be UK’s biggest ever

By Bridging Loan Directory 4th October 2017

Lendy, the P2P property platform, has returned £7.92 million to its lenders in what is believed to be the UK’s biggest-ever peer-to-peer loan repayment.

The loan, secured against the former Kentish Town Studios building in north London, has been repaid in full 21 days ahead of schedule, and has returned a gross 12% per annum in interest to lenders who participated through the platform.

The loan, which was made by almost 3,500 lenders through the Lendy platform, was drawn down in late October 2016, on a 12-month term. The final payment of interest will be made to lenders at the end of October.

Kentish Town Studios was a TV and film studio facility built in 1998. The building has secured planning permission for conversion into a 60,000 square foot office space. The LTV of the loan was 63%, with the property having been professionally valued at £12.5 million.

Liam Brooke, pictured, co-founder of Lendy, comments:

“We’re thrilled that our lenders have received what we believe to be the biggest repayment in the history of the UK P2P industry.”

“This loan has been a very smooth ride for everyone involved. It was purchased very quickly by our lenders, the sale of the property progressed quickly, and full repayment was made well within its term.”

“This is a strong endorsement of the due diligence we undertake for our lenders. The other point about our model is that we lend at a maximum LTV of 70%. That means that if the loan goes wrong there is a far better chance of lenders recouping their principal.”

Lendy is now one of Europe’s leading peer-to-peer secured property platforms, having enjoyed substantial growth in both new users and value of loans made over the last year.

Lendy has so far returned £186 million in capital and interest to its lenders. The platform has so far provided almost £335 million in loans secured against property since its inception, while the live loan book stands at £158 million. The 17,700 lenders on the Lendy platform have, to date, suffered no losses of principal on loans.

The Lendy platform offers lenders loans with a range of risk/reward ratios, with interest set at between 7% and 12%. The company never lends at LTVs above 70%, with the majority closer to 60%.

The platform is also one of very few P2P lenders that are profitable. Lendy increased its profits before tax by 164% over the last year, rising from £1.04m to £2.74m, while turnover increased 104% over the same period, going from £13.5m to £27.5m.