SoMo reports record first half and expands with London office
Manchester-based lender SoMo has reported a record first half of the year and opened a London office, as it outlines its plans to expand across the UK.
The peer-to-peer property lending platform, which rebranded from The BridgeCrowd at the end of last year, said it has seen a series of record-breaking months across completions, offers and funding since the beginning of 2021.
It has redeemed £117m in loans and paid £13.9m in interest this year so far, with zero capital losses.
SoMo also said that in May, it received 350 offers totalling £75m, comprised of bridging loans for business and property investment purchases. The platform also reported that it had signed 11 completions in a single day and further 28 in June alone.
SoMo, which has lent over £184m in total, is looking to grow its current active loanbook of £60m to £80m by year end. This follows a rise in profits in the 12 months to 31 March 2020 to just over £3.2m, up from approximately £2.9m the previous year.
The firm said that its new premises in London will act as a central hub for future expansion and to boost its presence across the UK. The new office will have a dedicated London underwriting team that have experience in the highly competitive London bridging space, which SoMo said will help its brokers secure fast completions.
Read more: SoMo plans for a busy 2021 following rebrand
“It’s been a hugely encouraging first half of 2021 and we’re proud of our growth and achievements to date,” said Louis Alexander (pictured), chief executive of SoMo.
“Following the rebrand, the business has continued to evolve and build on our reputation as experienced lenders who truly understand our clients.
“But it’s true what they say, slow and steady wins the race. Our number one priority is providing safe and secure loans for our customers and investors, and as a business we’re aiming for incremental growth, rather than scaling up quickly at the expense of the safety of funds.
“We’d rather be in business for 50 years and prioritise safety and compassion for both investors and borrowers, than take unnecessary risk.”
It has been a busy few months for SoMo.
In August, SoMo launched a larger loan product, SoMo300k+, which offers finance from £300,000 to £3m up to 75 per cent loan-to-value.
And in January, the platform appointed Jamie Jolly as its new managing director.