New Belfast SME finance broker working with P2P lenders
A NEW commercial finance broker has launched in Belfast, focused on offering alternative finance to Northern Ireland’s growing small- and medium- sized enterprise (SME) sector.
Clearpath Finance has already begun raising funds from investors and it expects to complete an initial tranche of loans worth £15m by the end of October. The company is already working with peer-to-peer lenders, private lending consortiums, equity and mezzanine funders in an effort to bring alternative financing solutions to the local small business community.
“The SME market has been seriously under-supported by the main financial institutions over the last 10 years, mainly due to legacy debt and balance sheet problems facing the local banks,” said Clearpath director Conor Devine. “We identified an opportunity in the market to provide third party lending to businesses and organisations looking for additional financial resources through our comprehensive experience and research.
“By bringing together a number of larger financial institutions that have the capacity to support the SME sector in Northern Ireland through Clearpath Finance, we will ensure that business lending for the SME sector is through a simplified, uncluttered and expedient path.”
Clearpath Finance is a wholly-owned subsidiary of real estate and debt advisory firm GDP Partnership, which has offices in Belfast and Dublin. The company made headlines back in 2013 when it hired ‘rogue trader’ Nick Leeson as a principal in its Dublin office.
Both GDP Partnership and Clearpath Finance are fully regulated by the FCA.