Plane sailing for Ablrate as platform gains FCA approval
ABLRATE has become the latest peer-to-peer lender to receive Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) authorisation.
The asset-backed business lender launched in July 2014, specialising in funding leasing for aircraft transactions. The platform, which has since expanded into capital equipment and property, targets 10 per cent returns and has funded almost £19m of loans so far.
Now that Ablrate has gained permission from the City watchdog, the next step is to secure ISA manager status from HMRC, so that it can offer the Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA).
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“Regulation is necessary, and to be effective regulation has to be adaptive,” chief executive David Bradley-Ward told Peer-to-Peer Finance News.
“This has been a challenge for platforms with different models and a challenge for the FCA facing those different models. I have to thank my team for meeting this challenge, working long hours and putting up with a grumpy chief executive on many occasions.
“It would also be remiss of me not to praise the professionalism and pragmatism of the regulator. The people we dealt with in all sections of the FCA have been helpful and professional, this gives us the confidence to be able to innovate, which is what our sector thrives upon, without fear of banging our heads up against a regulatory wall.”
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Bradley-Ward told Peer-to-Peer Finance News the firm is considering whether to manage the IFISA itself or to use a third-party provider, once it gets HMRC approval.