Growth Street exits peer-to-peer marketplace

This move follows Growth Street’s initiation of a Resolution Event, whereby its current loan book will be recalled from borrowers and existing P2P investors will be reimbursed their investments in at least quarterly instalments. Any possible losses will be spread across the investor base.

This move marks the end of the liquidity event, first announced in March, and Growth Street is notifying all borrowers and investors of this decision.

Kim Goetzke, COO of Growth Street, said: “For the past two years, we have bolstered the equity funding behind the business, with two major rounds in 2019 bringing over £17 million of institutional investment to help build and develop the business and its technology. The market circumstances created by Covid-19 have caused an acceleration of our strategic intention to diversify our funding sources using institutional financing, and led to a re-evaluation of the viability of P2P as a future financing source, compelling us to exit the P2P marketplace.

“We have begun the process of negotiating additional sources of financing and are confident that the stability of institutional backing coupled with our ever-improving technology will enable Growth Street to continue to serve SMEs across the UK. It is our absolute intention to work during this period return as much of our P2P investors’ capital as quickly as we reasonably can.

“Since 2014 we have received incredible and enduring support from our P2P investors, and we want to take this opportunity to thank them for enabling Growth Street to support so many businesses across the UK.”