P2P platforms welcome phased plan to lift lockdown restrictions

Peer-to-peer lending platforms have welcomed the government’s phased plan of lifting the lockdown restrictions.

In an announcement, Prime Minister Boris Johnson (pictured) said that in England anyone who cannot work from home such as those in construction or manufacturing should be encouraged to return to work from Wednesday 13 May but avoid public transport if possible.

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From 1 June, small businesses could start to reopen and reception, year one and year six pupils could return to school. And from 1 July, there is a possibility of some hospitality services reopening, such as cinemas, bars and restaurants. All of these changes would still need to incorporate social distancing.

Johnson has also introduced a Covid alert system and said that any measures the nation takes must not force the R, the rate of reproduction of the virus, to increase.

“It’s good to see a plan taking shape,” said Daniel Rajkumar, founder and managing director of P2P business lender Rebuildingsociety.

“The economy can start getting back to normal and more construction workers returning to work is good for property development platforms like our appointed representative Sourced Capital.

“And as industries such as hospitality return, hopefully the economy will return to normality, it will just take a while.

“I thought the phased approach is a good one and I’m looking forward to taking bigger steps to going in the right direction. However, I do think a regional approach will become necessary because people need to be able to react to their local rate of infection.”

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Similarly, Mike Bristow, chief executive of P2P property platform CrowdProperty, was pleased with the government’s plans to ease lockdown restrictions gradually.

“It’s a welcome step to getting the economy working again,” he said.

“The government has a very difficult balance between everyone’s safety and livelihood.

“I think it was sensible and right to start easing things and very right to encourage people to go back to work where they can safely, and it’s really important we get the economy moving again.

“Things need to open up and now there’s a way of measuring R then that can help with decisions on whether things need opening up or tightening again.”