GLI chief slams report of P2P divestment as “outrageous”

GLI FINANCE chief executive Andy Whelan has refuted a recent report that claimed the firm is looking to divest its peer-to-peer lending platform portfolio. 

An article in The Sunday Times, citing anonymous industry sources, said that the Aim-listed alternative finance group had offered to transfer some of its P2P holdings to rivals free of charge, in the wake of the Lendy collapse.

Whelan (pictured) told Peer2Peer Finance News that the report was “outrageous”, and confirmed that GLI Finance is not offloading its P2P portfolio.

“[The Sunday Times article] is factually incorrect and poor journalism,” Whelan said. “We are not doing what they suggested.

“It creates unnecessary worry among shareholders. And to link all P2P companies with Lendy is just outrageous.”

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GLI Finance has two separate business units: Fintech Ventures, which invests in fintech platforms, and its lending division Sancus BMS.

Fintech Ventures currently backs 11 fintech and alternative lending companies, including business finance marketplace Funding Options. GLI had also invested in UK Bond Network, which has now changed focus and rebranded as Torca.

There has been a rising disparity between the performance of the two divisions of the business.

In GLI Finance’s latest annual results, the firm reported operating losses of £2.3m for the year ended 31 December 2018, dragged down by a £19.6m writedown on its Fintech Ventures portfolio.

In contrast, the Sancus BMS division has been performing well, posting strong growth in revenues and operating profit.