LENDY has seen 50 per cent year-on-year growth in its investor base, with 20,000 individuals now signed up to the peer-to-peer lending platform.

The secured property finance provider said on Thursday that around 7,000 new investors have joined Lendy in the past year, with particular growth in the under-40 age group. This demographic now represents 50 per cent of the platform’s investor base.

Lendy investors have now received more than £37m in interest since the platform’s inception in 2012, up from £16m at the end of 2016. More than £373m has been lent through the platform in total.

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“We’re all thrilled to have passed what is a major milestone in our development as a business,” said Liam Brooke, co-founder of Lendy. “When we started Lendy in 2012, we believed that a lot of people would be interested in a high-yielding ‘kicker’ for their investment portfolios, and the support of 20,000 investors has shown that to be true.

“The continued growth of our investor base is also an endorsement of the due diligence we undertake for our investors. We have made a substantial investment in our personnel and resources for compliance and due diligence in the past year, and that is reflected in the loans we have brought to the platform.”

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Investors on the platform can expect returns ranging between seven and 12 per cent, secured against UK property at a maximum loan-to-value of 70 per cent.

Read more: Lendy to let investors track partial repayments of loans online