By Aisling Finn on Friday 1 May 2020
This is the first time the Cornish company has turned a profit in its seven-year history.
Cornwall-based peer to peer lender Folk2Folk reached profitability in 2019, according to its full-year reports released yesterday.
The platform closed the 2019/2020 year with a £198,000 profit, compared to a £535,000 loss in the previous year.
Folk2Folk says the change of its fortune came mainly from “stringent cost-cutting exercises” introduced by its managing director Roy Warren, who took the reigns just shy of a year ago following the exit of former CEO Giles Cross, who had only been in the role for 16 months.
Warren, who had been the platform’s Head of Risk & Loan Portfolio, implemented a regime of “greater fiscal vigour and discipline to the operations and management of the platform.”
Warren said: “Platform profitability has become increasingly important, not just for the FCA, but for retail and institutional investor decision-making. Many view it as an indicator of whether a peer to peer platform is viable and has a sustainable future.”
“Achieving profitability despite the market-impacting forces of Brexit, the election and now coronavirus is a significant breakthrough for the company and testament to our team’s commitment and our customers’ loyalty,” he added/
Since the start of the coronavirus crisis, Folk2Folk has facilitated £8m of loans and investments, bringing the total lending volume to over £350m.
The lender also revealed it has applied to the British Business Bank to become an accredited CBILS lender and is currently waiting to hear the outcome.
Editor's Pick
24 January 2023
Oliver Smith