P2P property lending group Lendy to bring lender-facing platform Saving Stream under Lendy brand

· Lendy now Europe’s leading peer-to-peer property platform

· Launch of new brand and simplified interface for investors and borrowers

Lendy Ltd, Europe’s leading peer to peer secured lending platforms, is integrating its popular investor-facing platform, Saving Stream, under the Lendy brand as part of the platform’s continued growth, it has announced.

Lendy says that it is merging its lending-facing brand, Saving Stream, with its borrower-facing brand, Lendy Finance, to simplify its branding and to make accessing its loan-based crowdfunding platform easier and more accessible to clients. Investors and borrowers will now use the same platform and website – www.lendy.co.uk.

The choice of the Lendy name follows positive feedback from long-term platform users about the existing Lendy brand.

– From next week, Lendy will provide UK property finance and development loans to a broad range of borrowers and project types through its borrowers’ service
– It will offer users opportunities to receive an estimated future gross annual return of up to 12%, before tax, on loans they make through its new Lendy branded platform, replacing the Saving Stream brand.
The total amount loaned to property developers and investors through Lendy’s peer-to-peer platform has now topped £285 million. Its 15,000 registered users have received £20 million of interest from the loans they have written.

Lendy’s user base has more than doubled from 5,600 at the start of 2016, with the platform’s popularity among lenders being driven by:

· The security provided by property-backed loans – lenders know that money they lend is secured against a real property asset, unlike the unsecured business loans offered by many peer-to-peer platforms

· The additional security provided by Loan To Value (LTV) ratios on all Lendy loans being capped strictly at 70%

· Returns of up to 12% on loans written through the Lendy service.
Lendy adds that there were 75 new loans written through its platform in 2016, with the primary drivers of popularity among borrowers being:

· Speed of decision-making – banks’ timetables for decisions on bridging or property developments loans are measured in months, while Lendy can make decisions in just a few days

· Knowledge of assets – Lendy’s experience in lending against both existing residential and commercial property and new developments allows it to make deals that many banks cannot

· The impact of Brexit, which has led many banks to reduce their lending against property, especially outside the owner-occupier market. This has allowed Lendy access to deals at lower LTVs that would previously have been snapped up by banks.
Paul Riddell, head of Marketing and Communications, comments: “We’ve always been the leaders in bringing simplicity to property investment, and our new branding reflects that.

“Unifying our lender and borrower brands together under one banner, and on a single online platform, is a step that allows us to streamline our process and make our offering simpler for the entire market.

“Lendy has proven enormously popular with both lenders and borrowers over the past year, with very strong growth in the number of lenders, number and value of loans, and the amount we’ve returned to lenders in interest.

“We’re looking forward to Lendy continuing to lead the peer-to-peer property finance market by sticking to the simple things that lenders and borrowers want – security, returns and quick decisions.”

ENDS
Notes to editors
Alternative finance providers, such as peer to peer and other crowdfunding platforms, are increasingly stepping into the gap created by traditional banks’ withdrawal. They are giving developers the opportunity to get their projects off the ground in a sensible timeframe.
Peer to peer lending is beneficial for investors, as well as developers, and people are increasingly turning to peer to peer in order to obtain a better yield from their investments in the current low interest rate environment.
For example, the average cash ISA at a bank now only offers annual returns of 0.74% (source: Bank of England).
The outlook for the property market is good. Despite traditional banks’ withdrawal from lending, it is important developers realise that other options are available to them. Peer to peer lending allows important development projects to go ahead and is beneficial to individual investors.

About Lendy
Lendy is Europe’s leading peer to peer secured lenders, providing property finance and development loans via its borrowers’ service. Since it was founded in 2012, it has grown to over 14,500 registered users. Investors on its peer to peer investment platform, have enjoyed a gross annual return of up to 12%, before tax, and received a total of £19 million in interest. Since inception, more than £265 million of funds have been provided for UK property investments.
All loans made through Lendy’s platform are secured by legal charge over UK property and loan amounts never exceed 70% of the properties’ Open Market Valuations undertaken by independent valuers; however, investor’s capital is at risk should a borrower default. Funds lent through a peer to peer website are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), although Lendy maintains a substantial discretionary provision fund to assist in making up any recovery shortfalls.
Whilst no Lendy investor has been subject to any loss of capital, past performance is not a guarantee of future performance. Please obtain independent advice if you are in any doubt as to whether this platform is suitable for you or if you require tax advice. Please see our full risk assessment at [new URL].Unallocated investor funds are held in a segregated client money bank account.
Lendy and Saving Stream are trading names of Lendy Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales under number 8244913with its registered office and principal place of business at Brankesmere House, Queens Crescent, Southsea PO5 3HT. Lendy Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), number 654326, and is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), number Z3404040.
Paul Riddell

Head of Marketing and Communications

LENDY

Tel: 07768 958714

Nick Mattison or Richard Crossan

Mattison Public Relations

Tel: +44 (0)20 7645 3636