Lendable inks £300m funding deal

LENDABLE has secured a £300m institutional funding deal with Castle Trust Capital that it says will enable it to grow its lending portfolio.

Castle Trust Capital, a specialty lender, said on Monday that it will invest up to £300m over the next three years in consumer loans originated via Lendable’s platform.

Lendable uses automated underwriting technology to offer instant decisions on small consumer loans, which institutional, sophisticated and high-net-worth investors can finance through its platform. It recently announced that it had hit the £100m cumulative lending mark in less than four years since launch.

Castle Trust is the second large institutional investor Lendable has signed this year, following a £100m investment in March from Waterfall Asset Management.

“I’m pleased that another large institution is coming onboard at Lendable and joining our marketplace of institutional and private investors,” said Martin Kissinger, founder and chief executive of Lendable.

“Our loans have consistently delivered market-leading risk-adjusted returns, and Castle Trust’s engagement allows us to further grow our lending portfolio in 2018 and beyond.”

Read more: Lendable partners with money app Pariti

This agreement is Castle Trust’s second major deal in the alternative finance space this year. In January, the lender acquired Omni Capital Retail Finance, a technology-led retail point of sale credit provider.

“Castle Trust is excited to partner with Lendable as they grow their footprint in the UK consumer lending space,” said Sean Oldfield, founder and chief executive of Castle Trust.

“Following extensive review of the market we concluded that Lendable’s focus on machine learning and innovative distribution channels was consistent with the approach taken on our own originations to generate maximum value for customers and capital providers. We continue to seek further investments in the rapidly evolving alternative finance market.”