Assetz Capital accredited to Recovery Loan Scheme
Assetz Capital has become the second peer-to-peer lending platform to be accredited to the Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS).
The platform lent £370m to UK small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS) since being approved for the scheme in May 2020.
Under the RLS, Assetz Capital will be delivering property-secured loans between £250,000 and £10m to SMEs across the UK, covering both commercial mortgages and development finance.
Assetz Capital’s accreditation under the RLS, which replaced the previous state-backed Covid schemes including CBILS, came after Funding Circle was approved to deliver funding through the scheme in May.
“We are pleased to be accredited and we look forward to helping even more SMEs recover from the impacts of the pandemic,” said Stuart Law (pictured), chief executive at Assetz Capital.
“We exist to support the growth of UK SMEs, so being accredited as a lender under RLS is a natural step for us after our success delivering CBILS and our previous £1bn of further lending outside of the pandemic.
“It is SMEs that will power the UK economy as we exit the pandemic and ensuring they have continued access to finance is critical. We look forward to playing our part.”
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The British Business Bank (BBB) has also accredited UKSE, which provides small loans and equity finance to SMEs, to the RLS.
The RLS has a maximum facility of £10m, and provides loans from £1,000 for asset and invoice finance and from £25,001 for term loans and overdrafts.
The BBB has accredited a number of lenders to the scheme lately, including NEL Fund Managers, Time Finance, Leumi UK, Leumi ABL and Let’s Do Business Finance.
Read more: Brokers note rising demand for unsecured SME finance
The BBB’s website now lists 48 RLS accredited lenders in total.