Marketplace lender Lendable tops £100m mark

Consumer lender Lendable notches milestone shortly after securing institutional backing.

Consumer lender notches milestone shortly after securing institutional backing.

Lendable is a different kind of marketplace lender to those we’re familiar with in the UK, but it may have found a sweet spot. The consumer lending platform has just passed the £100m mark in cumulative lending, according to AltFi Data.

The milestone comes some six months after Lendable’s £100m loan purchasing deal with specialist credit investor Waterfall Asset Management.

Lendable has rapidly upped the pace of its lending lately, disbursing more than £60m in 2017 alone, including more than £25m over the past 90 days, again according to AltFi Data. The platform now boasts a 90 day market share of 6.2 per cent, third among consumer-focused marketplace lenders in the UK behind Zopa and RateSetter.

Lendable’s strategy differs from these firms in that it funds loans via a mixture of institutional and qualified private investor money, eschewing retail investment. Perhaps more significantly, its borrowers occupy what CEO Martin Kissinger (pictured) has previously described as a “higher yielding, underserved space” within consumer credit.

The company makes great play of its automated underwriting technology, which powers what it calls the fastest journey to a loan in the UK, while also making it possible to write smaller loans at better rates.

“Our track record demonstrates credit discipline as well as a commitment to excellent customer service,” said Kissinger. “In 2018 we’ll continue to grow our business and help even more people to achieve their goals.”