Zopa has reported strong results for 2016. The world’s original peer-to-peer lender saw revenues grow 61 per cent from £20.6m in 2015 to £33.2m the following year (ended 31 December 2016), according to Companies House filings. Meanwhile its operating loss for the year has narrowed to £5.9m, down from £8.9m in 2015.
The lending platform attributes its success to increased loan origination. It lent £689m in 2016, an increase of 30 per cent on the prior year total of £532m. Zopa has lent close to £2.6bn to date, according to AltFi Data.
Zopa has said in a statement that the results reflect significant investment in the company’s technology and operational systems, and in its governance infrastructure. Its average headcount climbed by 69 per cent to 188 in 2016. The company also moved to new premises near London Bridge during the period.
"2016 was an important year for Zopa in which we invested heavily in technology, infrastructure, and our people," explained CEO Jaidev Janardana (pictured).
Zopa closed out 2016 with a bang by announcing its intention to launch a next-generation banking service, which Janardana says will enable it "to offer our customers a greater choice of products and allow Zopa to take the next step in making people’s finances simple and fair".
Zopa announced its full authorisation by the FCA in May of this year, and is currently in the process of rolling out its Innovative Finance ISA offering. The platform scooped a £32m equity investment round in June, with India’s Wadhawan Global Capital Pvt Ltd taking the lead.
