New acquisition saves P2P lender from administration

GLI Finance acquired FundingKnight Holdings Ltd after it was placed into administration.

GLI was already invested in the business, but had originally planned to exit the business earlier this year.

FundingKnight provides loans of between £25k-£1m for SMEs and property bridging.

In February, GLI said "it had not been possible to agree a way forward between GLI and FundingKnight" and as a result became a passive investor.

However GLI Finance has paid £0.75m at completion and today committed £1m of further funding capital to keep its operations going.

to help grow the business as the peer-to-peer lender looks to continue its focus on property and business lending.

Andy Whelan, CEO of GLI, said: "We believe FundingKnight is a fundamentally good business with strategic value. By acquiring the business at a low entry price, we will help secure the continued employment of the FundingKnight team and provide reassurance to the investors in FundingKnight loans and FundingKnight's SME client base that have existing loans or are seeking to borrow. In the medium term, we will be seeking to maximise the potential of FundingKnight in a way which is consistent with our strategic plans."