Ex-Octopus Choice head moves to wealthtech platform
Sam Handfield-Jones, who was the first head of peer-to-peer lending platform Octopus Choice, has taken on a full-time role at wealthtech startup Seccl.
On its website, Seccl describes itself as offering “pioneering platform technology for advice and investment firms.”
It was founded in Bath in 2017 and aims to help financial advisers, wealth managers, discretionary fund managers and fintechs deliver faster, cheaper and more flexible platform solutions.
In August 2019, Octopus Group acquired Seccl for £10m. Handfield-Jones worked on the acquisition and joined the company as co-head. However, he remained in his role as director of growth and innovation at Octopus Investments until August 2020.
Charlie Taylor took over as head of Octopus Choice in February 2019. The platform specialises in property-backed P2P lending. It was launched in 2016, but in March 2020 it paused all lending activity in response to the coronavirus crisis.
According to the platform’s statistics, more than £80m was invested in Octopus Choice in the 12 months ending 30 April 2020. This compares with £164.6m in the previous 12-month period.
Across 2020, investors have received an average return of 4.22 per cent, and £9.3m in interest payments.
However, the platform’s default rates jumped to a monthly average of 11.1 per cent in the 12 months to 30 April 2020.
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