Lending Works re-opens to IFISA investors
LENDING Works has re-opened its Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA) to investors, after experiencing “unbelievable demand” following this month’s launch.
The peer-to-peer lender had set an internal investment cap of £1m, which was filled within 24 hours due to an influx of new customers eager to take advantage of tax-free earnings before the end of the tax year.
The £1m cap was not a hard limit and the actual amount of new money transferred into the IFISA was around £1.5m. On top of that, a further £1m had been transferred from other ISAs, as the final amount is not always confirmed by the last ISA manager prior to the transfer.
Read more: Lending Works launches IFISA
Lending Works has now increased the cap to £5m due to increased loan volumes.
“We had an idea from the enthusiasm of our customers that the launch of our ISA would be met with great fanfare, but to have seen over £2.5m of ISA capital fly in within 24 hours exceeded even our lofty expectations,” said Nick Harding (pictured), founding chief executive of Lending Works.
“We are conscious that an excess of ISA capital could result in increased matching times, which is why we’ve decided to accept ISA contributions in fixed tranches.
“However, owing to a rising volume of loan originations, we’re delighted to be giving lenders another opportunity to take advantage of tax-free P2P lending returns so soon after the launch.”
Harding added that Lending Works expects to reopen the platform for ISA investments in fixed tranches on a regular basis, between now and the end of the year.
Lending Works is the first member of the Peer-to-Peer Finance Association to offer the IFISA, having received the relevant permissions from the Financial Conduct Authority and HMRC late last year.