Peer-to-peer lender Assetz Capital and RBS have created an innovative partnership to improve access to credit for SMEs.
If RBS is unable to help an SME get the loan it needs, it will pass on relevant details to Assetz Capital who will work with the business to develop an appropriate loan package to suit both the peer-to-peer investors, and the SME borrower.
The SMEs may be either existing business finance customers of RBS’s, or new businesses seeking funding. According to government research*, 50 per cent of first time business loan applications are turned down. This agreement is set to improve access to finance for thousands of established SMEs across the UK so this figure is expected to fall.
Under the Finance Bill 2016, banks are required to make arrangements to signpost business customers to alternative sources of finance when they can’t help however this agreement predates that requirement.
Assetz Capital, which launched in March 2013 and is now one of the two large peer to peer business lenders in the UK, has lent more than £55m to UK SMEs and property developers, and pioneered the peer-to-peer market by becoming the first provider to take tangible security on every loan in order to protect investors – this proved so successful that several other platforms have adopted a similar model.
Andrew Holgate, MD of Assetz Capital, commented: “In the not very distant past, it would have been unthinkable for even a leading peer to peer lender to collaborate with a bank. However, it is clear that there’s a genuine desire emerging for banks to support SMEs more by introducing alternative lending industry options. We are proud to be working with RBS at the vanguard of this change and expect to deploy hundreds of millions of pounds at least over the next couple of years into great British businesses.”
“An individual bank can’t lend to every business that applies for a loan due to the restrictions of complex banking regulations. Sometimes good, creditworthy businesses don’t meet specific requirements set out by a bank, but might be able to borrow from a peer-to-peer lender. Peer-to-peer lenders operate differently to banks in the way they are funded, which means we can be more flexible. Just like RBS, we visit each borrower in person and find a solution that gets the SME the cash it needs whilst providing appropriate returns for investors.”
Stuart Law, CEO and founder of Assetz Capital, commented: “With the arrival this week of a £150m commitment from our first institutional funder, and many more funding lines of a similar type coming shortly we are on track to fund many hundreds of small business loans over the next couple of years. Peer to Peer, or marketplace lending as it is also known, is becoming a major force in business funding in the UK economy.
Alison Rose, CEO Commercial and Private Banking commented: “We are committed to doing the right thing for our customers by helping them access finance where we cannot help them within our current risk appetite. I am delighted to see RBS partnering up with both Assetz and Funding Circle. We are dedicated to supporting SMEs, whether they are an existing customer of RBS or not.”
For more information, visit www.assetzcapital.co.uk
-END-
Notes to editors
*Government report into SME signposting by the banks -https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/sme-finance-help-to-match-smes-rejected-for-finance-with-alternative-lenders/sme-finance-help-to-match-smes-rejected-for-finance-with-alternative-lenders
To arrange an interview with MD, Andrew Holgate, or the CEO of Assetz Capital, please contact:
Luke O’Mahony or Sean Williams
[email protected] / [email protected]
020 3176 4993 / 4994
Or
Stuart Law, Chief Executive,
Assetz Capital Limited
07977 982 401
About Assetz Capital Limited (www.assetzcapital.co.uk)
Assetz Capital is one of the fastest growing peer-to-peer lenders in the world. Its aims are to create a fairer lending landscape, providing non-bank loans to small and medium sized enterprises and property developers in the UK, helping them gain access to finance for their projects and future business growth, as well as providing sound investment returns for investors. Rather than being just a website or a dot com business, it is run by professional bankers with huge experience of quality and safe lending, alongside a nationwide network of relationship managers who visit and vet potential borrowers. Unusually for peer to peer lenders, tangible security is in place to reduce the risk of capital losses for investors and traditional credit assessment techniques are employed rather than solely computer based assessments.
Assetz Capital is part of the long established Assetz group of companies, founded by Stuart Law, which has over 100,000 registered, cash rich private investors.
Call Assetz Capital: 0207 8701023 or visit www.assetzcapital.co.uk