Assetz Capital to stay open to retail investors alongside CBILS

Assetz Capital is to keep its platform open to retail investors even while funding loans under the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS).

It became the second peer-to-peer lender to become accredited under CBILS yesterday (6 May).

Retail investors are unable to fund the loans so the money will come from institutional lenders such as the British Business Bank.

The other approved P2P lender, Funding Circle, has said it will pause new retail lending while it focuses on funding the emergency loans.

Assetz Capital said it will continue taking retail money and indicated that participation in the scheme could see it roll-back its lender fee sooner.

“Whilst this government-backed scheme does not permit retail investment in CBILS loans it is still positive news for the platform as a whole,” Stuart Law (pictured), chief executive of Assetz Capital, said.

“We have a number of large, and in some cases new, institutional funding lines now being taken live and that we will run through this CBILS facility.

“This is intended to cover both new and existing lending.

“As a business we saw a significant drop in income as a result of the temporary pause to new lending due to coronavirus.

“The new lending under CBILS will, in time, help us to increase revenue once more, which would permit reinvestment, growth and in due course allow us to move back on the temporary lender fee.

“Whilst we are increasing our institutional funding lines, our retail lenders continue to be a very important part of our investment base and we have absolutely no plans to stop accepting retail investment.”

Read more: British Business Bank works on automation to quicken CBILS roll-out