ArchOver’s losses widen to £1.34m in 2019 amid team shake-up
ArchOver posted a loss of £1.34m in 2019, during a year in which the peer-to-peer lender restructured its team and simplified its business model.
The London-based firm, which provides finance to small- and medium-sized enterprises, saw its losses widen slightly year-on-year from £1.25m in 2018.
Revenues also ticked down, falling to £1.57m in the year ended 31 December 2019 from £1.64m the previous year, according to its full-year accounts filed with Companies House.
ArchOver simplified its offering for investors into ‘secured’ and ‘advance’, the latter comprising unsecured loans with a higher target return.
“In the year ending 31 December 2019, ArchOver continued to grow its largest asset in the active loanbook and maintain its recurring revenue stream,” it said. “Despite not securing as much new long term loans as we forecast, the business has seen an uplift in successful R&D Advances and short term Secured loans which have assisted in maintaining our revenue targets.”
To control costs, the firm made a number of changes to its team structure during the year, which included the departure of the internal marketing department and the head of lending.
Following the accounting period, ArchOver’s head of credit Charlotte Marsh was promoted to managing director in March 20202, while chief executive Angus Dent stepped down.
The number of ArchOver investors grew to 1,192 by the end of 2019, up from 1,068 the previous year.
The number of loans facilitated grew to 510 from 362 over the same period.
As of the end of March 2020, ArchOver had 1,208 investors and had completed 526 loans.
Archover said that the focus for 2020 will be on further efficiencies, such as streamlining internal processes, improving its website, designating the anti-money laundering and know your customer function to one team, and cost management and revenue tracking.
The firm said that it saw “a favourable performance against budget” in the first quarter of 2020 but the coronavirus pandemic has led the directors to review its budgets and strategic plans for this year.
It also said that it had remained in close contact with its borrowers during this period and many of its borrowers seem well placed to weather the economic upheaval. However, a handful are facing more immediate concerns due to the public health crisis.
To date, Archover has facilitated over £120m of loans for SMEs. Its investors, which include individuals, family offices, companies and institutions, have received over £8m in interest and have been repaid around £81m of capital.