Ex-RateSetter business finance head launches new P2P platform
RATESETTER alumni Brian Cartwright has launched new alternative property lender Nexa Finance, with a focus on the East Midlands.
Cartwright (pictured), managing director at Nexa, previously worked as head of business finance at ‘big three’ peer-to-peer lender RateSetter.
His new venture, which bills itself as a regionally-focused business lender, aims to connect East Midlands-based small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) property developers and house builders with funders.
The business is currently just open to institutional investors, Cartwright told Peer2Peer Finance News via email, but is planned to open to retail investors in 18 to 24 months.
Nexa’s average loan is around £700,000 with a 14-month term.
The platform is not currently able to disclose the rates of return for institutional investors due to confidentiality agreements, Cartwright said, but it will be able to publish projected rates of return once the business opens to retail investors.
“We’re dedicated to supporting local people within our core region (Leicestershire and Rutland),” Cartwright said, highlighting the team’s knowledge and experience of both the local area and property finance.
“We bring a personal and dedicated service, with manual underwriting which allows us to offer a swift and prompt service to our customers.”
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Nexa cited a report from the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance which showed that the alternative lending sector grew by more than a third in 2017 to £6.2bn, of which 68 per cent is business funding.
In the same year, almost 30,000 companies used non-traditional funding channels with P2P lending and equity crowdfunding now seen as established investment vehicles for early-stage companies.
“The ethos of Nexa is to bypass complicated and unnecessary processes that sit within traditional banks,” Cartwright said.
“There is a huge amount of potential property development here in the East Midlands and I look forward to bringing Nexa to the community.”
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Nexa’s core products comprise a property development loan for developers and builders seeking to build small scale residential homes, a property refurbishment loan and a property exit loans for developers wanting to raise capital against already completed projects in order to fund their next development.
Cartwright’s experience includes 17 years at a Bank of Scotland subsidiary followed by more recent senior management positions including three years as regional sales director at Barclays Bank.
He also completed four years as commercial director at Cambridge & Counties Bank, and was at RateSetter before going on to launch Nexa.
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