Landbay raises £1.6m in latest Seedrs funding round
PEER-TO-PEER lender Landbay has raised £1.6m in its sixth round of equity crowdfunding on the Seedrs platform, as the company reaffirms its ambition to become profitable by the end of the year.
Landbay, which specialises in buy-to-let mortgages, caught the attention of 278 investors in its latest funding round. The initial amount sought was £1.25m.
The company has raised £6.4m via Seedrs in the last four years.
“The fact that we have worked with Seedrs on every funding round since 2013 demonstrates our commitment to the crowd for their unwavering support,” said John Goodall (pictured), Landbay’s chief executive.
“The first four years of the business have been spent building a strong foundation and the investment we have received through the platform has played a big part in this.”
The money raised from this round of funding will go towards growing the business, said Goodall, adding: “we expect to become profitable by the end of 2018”.
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Landbay said it plans to spend half of the new money raised on technology, with the remaining half split evenly between marketing and general operating expenses.
Landbay is the third most active company on Seedrs’ 10-month-old secondary market, which allows investors to buy and sell shares in businesses funded on Seedrs.
Landbay has lent more than £100m cumulatively. The average loan-to-value on the properties financed – an indication of the riskiness of the loans – is 67.55 per cent, according to its most recent loan book. So far, the company has recorded zero defaults.
Just over half of the loans have gone to properties in the Greater London area.
Goodall said in March that his long-term aim is for Landbay to become a publicly listed company.