October heralds record December despite Covid-19 crisis

European peer-to-peer lending platform October said December was “the most active month in our history”, lending €24m to 70 businesses amid the pandemic.

This comes after the firm passed the €500m lending milestone during the last quarter.

During 2020, October supported 395 small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), up by 75 per cent from 2019, representing 16,697 jobs and €5.74bn in revenues.

“This extraordinary situation was an opportunity to make an inventory of our strengths, to prepare our future in this new world,” October said in a blog on its website.

“Obviously, our technology, six years of collected data and our European presence are the best foundation for a strong, resilient October.”

October also noted that it raised €295m over 2020, which was led by a record financing of €200m in Italy by Italian banking group Gruppo Intesa Sanpaolo.

Read more: P2P lender October unveils lending technology to boost employee engagement

During the year, October also launched Instant Project for state-guaranteed loans, allowing quick decisions for emergency loan schemes in Italy, France and the Netherlands, a technology toolbox for businesses called October Connect and supported the tourism sector.

Read more: October warns side effects of pandemic won’t be felt until the new year

Read more: October secures funding to expand European P2P products

In March, October asked its 25,000 retail and institutional investors about a proposed three-month capital repayment freeze to give its borrowers some breathing space.

The platform said it implemented the repayment holiday after the majority (99 per cent) of its lenders voted to support the platform’s SMEs.

October said the decision meant a three-months revenue loss and, as suspected, there were very few new loans happening to compensate.