JustUs backs P2P lending platform for businesses excluded from government support
JustUs technology has been used to launch a new platform aimed at companies that are not eligible for the government’s coronavirus business support schemes.
A community interest company has been set up by several fintech firms called ExcludedUK to run the Small Business Interruption Loan Service (SBILS).
The platform uses P2P technology for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to source and arrange their own funding from an existing network.
The alternative lending platform is expected to help more than 50,000 of the three million excluded businesses, such as those recently self-employed or those directors that pay themselves mostly in dividends.
To apply, businesses can download the Moneybrain app – a sister brand of JustUs.
Following an application review, if a request is successful the SBILS teams will help the business build a loan request campaign.
Businesses then use the materials and support provided by SBILS to source funding from their network. When the loan is 100 per cent funded, money is received within 24 hours.
No repayments are required on the loans for the first 12 months.
The interest rate for the first 12 months is three per cent per year, which is rolled up.
The interest rate from month 13 is between six and eight per cent depending on the loan amount.
The maximum term is 60 months and there is a completion fee of two per cent.
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“We are very happy to work alongside JustUs to present SBILS as an innovative solution that offers sole traders and SMEs an alternative at a time when government isn’t providing the needed financial support,” Anneka Hicks, founder of ExcludedUK, said.
“It will allow SMEs to source support from their own networks but with the necessary security for all those involved.
“We hope that the platform brings much needed fresh hope to thousands of businesses to get them back up and running successfully.”
Read more: Five ways P2P lenders have benefited from Covid-19
Lee Birkett, founder of JustUs, said using a peer network is a viable solution for tens of thousands of businesses.
“We are still urging the government to reassess its criteria,” he said.
“It should be acting as the main financial lifeline for SMEs, with platforms such as SBILS, then being a further support stream.
“Currently, for many businesses that found themselves non-eligible, it is their only option, which is an issue that we still want government to address.”
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