On CityAM this week, Harriet Green writes about the most influential people in peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding. The list is based on active users of Twitter and other social media including their Klout scores. The Klout score is based on a combination of metrics from Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, LinkedIn, Instagram, Foursquare and Wikipedia. Why […]
On the Bridging and Commercial site, Charles Haresnape writes that the amount of money being lent to SME’s by banks is lagging behind expected levels for an expanding economy. He notes a sharp fall in lending over June. Bank of England data for that period shows a decline of £5.487bn in money being lent to […]
Often, in the news stories on this site, the focus has been on prospective lenders rather than borrowers. In Forbes, Trevor Clawson takes a look at crowdfunding from the perspective of the borrowing businesses and how they can improve their chances of success. He investigates the steps that a business can take to enhance their […]
In the Telegraph, Simon Champ writes a thoughtful article about the disruption that the banking sector will likely experience as a result of the AltFi technology revolution that has already begun. He details the initial technological advances around mobile banking and the lessening of demand on actual high street branch visits but goes one step further […]
In the FT, Emma Dunkey reports that some of the major P2P lenders in the UK market recently accompanied UK prime minister, David Cameron on a trade and foreign policy mission to Asia this month. With the fast growing nature of the emerging economies in Asia, some companies are evaluating the suitability of the market […]
The crowd is coming to the South West. September will see a conference of industry leaders in small-business funding, venture capital and alternative finance, including the two major forms of crowdfunding – peer-to-peer (P2P) debt, and equity. Co-sponsored by the South West’s top law firm, Foot Anstey, which will be hosting the event in its […]
In a report from the P2PFA, it is stated that over £500m of new consumer and SME loans were provided by peer-to-peer platforms since April. This is the fastest rate of growth yet as confidence grows for both borrowers and lenders in the P2P platforms. Christine Farnish, Chair of the P2PFA, is quoted in the […]
In the Telegraph this week, Rebecca Burn-Callender reports that UK tennis great Andy Murray has made three investments in UK start-up companies since joining the Seedrs advisory board in June. He selected three UK companies; Tossed, Trillenium and the Fuel Ventures Fund. In the article he explains his motivation for investing in the companies as […]
Today, we bring you a different view of the alternative finance sector. Insider Media blogger, Alastair Logan, points out that banks have largely failed in providing funds to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), and that alternative platforms are on the up. Perhaps the most important of these platforms is the Alternative Business Funding hub, of which […]
A recent article in The Financial Times brings back fond memories of friends at Cambridge University, working in the technology and alternative finance sector. The feature centres on the funding and development of an ultra-automated kitchen. “Its success gives the lie to the widespread belief that the UK is bad at innovation or, at least, […]