Folk2Folk guides for £1m profit in 2020

Folk2Folk has said it is on course to achieve a £1m profit for its 2020 financial year, beating its pre-pandemic target.

This will be the second consecutive year of profit for the peer-to-peer business lender, which reported a pre-tax profit of £198,000 the previous year.

Folk2Folk achieved its biggest month to date in March, during which it facilitated £15m of borrowing and investing.

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“Platform profitability is of increasing importance to all stakeholders, with investors in particular seeking stable investment vehicles and returns,” said Roy Warren (pictured), managing director at Folk2Folk.

“Despite the headwinds presented by Covid-19, we have gone beyond our 2020 profit target which was set well before the outbreak of the pandemic, making it an even more meaningful achievement for us.

“We believe this resulted from keeping our doors open and remaining supportive for all our borrowers and investors alike. We helped other business stay afloat, and made a profit ourselves by doing so.  We take a very human approach and I think that shone through particularly brightly last year and stood us in very good stead.

“We’re excited by the buzz and momentum we’re feeling within our business. Our consistent performance enables us to stand tall, and our strong cashflow position enables us to invest in our own future growth.”

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Over 2020, the platform lent around £60m to small- and medium-sized enterprises and returned £12m in gross payments to investors, who typically earn 6.5 per cent interest per annum.

So far in 2021, the platform has surpassed the £400m lending milestone, overhauled its broker team and has seen year-on-year growth in its Innovative Finance ISA inflows, attracting a cumulative total of more than £26m as of 8 March.