MarketInvoice confirms departure from P2PFA

MARKETINVOICE has confirmed it has left the Peer-to-Peer Finance Association (P2PFA).

The invoice finance and business loans P2P lending platform said it had decided to not renew its membership in December 2018 as its business was evolving with more institutional funding and bank partnerships.

It comes after the P2PFA released member lending figures on Wednesday (7 March), with no explanation of why MarketInvoice was no longer included.

Anil Stocker (pictured), chief executive of MarketInvoice, said the firm still supported the P2PFA’s rules and would work closely with it.

“As we scale the company, our business model is evolving on many fronts,” he said.

“With innovative bank partnerships, we are raising awareness and supporting new businesses across the UK.

“Similarly, we are attracting new sources of funding with growing interest from institutions. Given the changes afoot, we concluded that we would not renew our membership of the P2PFA, despite our continued full support of the P2PFA’s operating principles.

“MarketInvoice has enjoyed and benefited from its membership of the P2PFA including the role we have played through our membership in the development of this part of the UK alternative finance market.

“We look forward to maintaining strong relationships with the P2PFA and its platforms as the sector continues to grow and develop.”

The platform still works with high net worth investors but has established partnerships with several institutional backers in recent months.

Barclays took a minority stake in the platform last year and took part in a £26m Series B equity funding round alongside Santander’s InnoVentures fintech fund, technology credit fund Viola Credit and existing investor Northzone in January.

Viola Credit will also provide a debt facility of up to £30m to go towards business loans on the MarketInvoice platform.

It has also previously signed agreements with Portuguese bank Banco BNI Europa (BNI) and Germany’s Varengold Bank to channel £90m and £45m, respectively, on its platform.