New peer-to-business lending platform launches

The platform allows individuals to lend from £500 upwards for property transactions and aims to drastically speed up the process of property financing compared to the traditional model.

Credit Peers says that after registering, a lender can begin to make loans within minutes, whilst a borrower could have access to finance "within weeks".

Recent research undertaken by Credit Peers amongst 1,000 consumers found that 59% trust their bank less than they did a year ago. 44% of respondents are looking for the rate of return on their investment to be between 5-10%.

Credit Peers says it only matches funds to projects that are verified and managed by experienced and professional real estate investors and developers with successful track records, that offer significant security.

Borrowers are required to invest a mimimum of 15% of the property value using their own equity into each transaction.

Torsten Hartmann, CEO of Credit Peers, said: “The current economic environment of low interest rates, volatile stock markets and high house prices offers very little to the average consumer looking to make a better return on their money. Add to this the current distrust of traditional investment vehicles, and the situation is bleak. We are setting out to revolutionise and democratise property financing by focusing on quality, speed, control and transparency. In the context of the uncertainty created by Brexit and the US election, we are confident in both the property and alternative finance markets. We want to allow everyone to benefit from the ongoing growth within the sector by helping them to lend funds against tangible assets that they can see, touch and feel.

“Credit Peers deals with all types of property from multi-residential to office and retail, and accepts individual lenders, but we only deal with a special type of borrower. This is what sets us apart from the P2P lending market. We are passionate about the importance of P2B as a way to offer the public additional peace of mind that their loans are made to well-established borrowers in the property market. Our extensive experience in the sector means that we are perfectly placed to be able to facilitate the P2B lending revolution.”