GLI to kick off FundingKnight rebrand ‘by end of 2017’
THE PARENT firm of peer-to-peer lender FundingKnight hopes to announce, if not complete, the platform’s rebrand by the end of the year.
Speaking to Peer2Peer Finance News, Andrew Whelan, chief executive officer of GLI Finance, said that the rebrand of FundingKnight will bring it in line with the rest of its Sancus BMS Group.
Read more: Sancus completes £12m funding for Heartlands development
The move had already been flagged by GLI, as part of a wider strategic review. It has already rebranded P2P lender Platform Black as Sancus Finance.
Alongside the change in branding, FundingKnight is being “realigned” towards asset-backed lending, particularly bridging and development finance.
“We want to do bridge funding and development – whether bridging to a sale or a refinance,” said Whelan. “It’s an area where the banks don’t have the appetite, and alternative finance is meeting a real need.”
GLI, an AIM-listed investment firm, took FundingKnight out of administration a little over a year ago when it bought the platform, though it has since undergone an overhaul of its overall activities after a difficult 2016. GLI reported a pre-tax loss of £15.1m for the six months to the end of June, with £12.6m of writedowns.
FundingKnight was launched in 2011 and received full authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority in July this year.
Read more: GLI-backed Sancus BMS raises stake in Sancus Finance