Assetz Capital becomes second CBILS-approved P2P platform
Assetz Capital has become the second peer-to-peer platform accredited to deliver the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS) by the British Business Bank.
The firm is one of nine new alternative finance firms approved for the scheme, which enables lenders to provide government-backed loans of up to £5m to smaller businesses hit by Covid-19.
Funding Circle was the first P2P lender accredited by the scheme last month.
Assetz will provide both commercial mortgages and property development loans between £250,000 and £5m for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) and focus on its speciality of SME housebuilders.
The lender will start providing loans to its existing customers once it has operationalised its lending under the scheme and expects to soon announce that it will also begin to deal with new enquiries.
Assetz’s addition to CBILS coincides with Peer2Peer Finance News’ ‘Back Our Industry’ campaign, calling for the government to utilise P2P lenders during this time.
“We are delighted with this accreditation by the British Business Bank and it will help us to carry some of the weight of supporting this country’s great small businesses and house builders in this very difficult time,” said Stuart Law (pictured), chief executive of Assetz Capital.
“We are passionate about supporting SMEs and since we founded the company back in 2013, we have been working diligently to help fill the funding gap to those companies.
“As a marketplace lender, we are funded by a portfolio of institutions as well as tens of thousands of retail investors. CBILS, necessarily, will only be funded by institutional investors and these currently include UK and European banks, specialist credit funds and our dedicated institutional investment fund.
“We look forward to originating and managing these new loans for those institutional investors as the country begins its journey to recovery over coming months.
“With loan pricing available keener than ever we look forward to helping to lead the way out of this crisis and supporting viable businesses, their staff and in turn their families.”
Read more: British Business Bank works on automation to quicken CBILS roll-out
The British Business Bank also announced that it has approved alternative lenders Atom bank, Ebury, Fleximize, Investec, Social Investment Business, Tower Leasing, Ultimate Finance and White Oak UK to deliver the scheme.
The addition of these, alongside Assetz, brings the total number of CBILS lenders to over 60.
“The British Business Bank continues to help meet the incredible demand for CBILS by approving additional lenders for accreditation to the scheme, and provide even more choice for smaller businesses in need as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak,” said Keith Morgan, chief executive, British Business Bank.
“These nine newly accredited lenders for CBILS will be able to deploy vital funding and get additional finance flowing to smaller businesses across the UK as quickly as possible.”
