50pc of the Octopus Choice portfolio has already been realised
Octopus Choice has already refinanced and returned half of its peer-to-peer lending portfolio since the platform paused trading in March 2020, Peer2Peer Finance News can reveal.
The property-backed lender announced its closure today, after it struggled to maintain liquidity as a result of the Covid-19 crisis.
The platform has pledged to return all investor capital and interest as it seeks to refinance its loan portfolio.
Earlier this week, it secured a refinancing agreement with an unnamed institutional investor for 25 per cent of its current invested capital. This deal allows for immediate repayment on those loans to Choice investors.
Since March 2020, Octopus has returned more than £140m to its P2P investors, equivalent to 50 per cent of the funds under management at the point that the platform suspended trading last year.
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Octopus told Peer2Peer Finance News that its community of financial advisers and retail investors had been understanding and supportive of how the platform has handled the situation.
The lender also confirmed that it should not be making further use of its IFISA permissions one it has completed closure of the Choice platform.
“Following our decision to close the Choice platform, I’d like to thank our investors and their advisers for their ongoing patience and understanding as we work hard to do everything we can to try and deliver the expected levels of liquidity for our investors,” added Ruth Handcock, chief executive of Octopus Investments.
“While we had hoped to do this via trading on the platform, we no longer feel this is an option given current market conditions.
“We recognise that some customers will be disappointed by our decision to close the product as the platform has provided a great opportunity for investors to access the property market over the last few years. However, given the challenging ongoing market conditions, we believe this course of action is in the best interests of our investors.”
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