Crowdfunding works. The auction closing of the B+ rated loan offering from cafe operator, JFG Limited, which closed last night, clearly demonstrates a worthwhile outcome for borrower and lender. The offer received bids via the Money&Co. platform for 100 per cent of the £307,000 sought by the borrower a day and a half before close. […]
Our friends at CityA.M. run an opinion piece which argues that equity crowdfunding might replace the London Stock Exchange’s junior market, AIM. Equity crowdfunding, remember, is typically for start-ups and companies much younger than the more mature businesses that Money&Co. lenders advance money to. Here is an extract from the article: “The growth of [equity] […]
News reaches us via our friends at Crowdfundinsider of a new step in the implementation of Goldman Sachs’ previously announced plan to start a peer-to-peer (P2P) lending operation. The giant US investment bank’s move speaks to two recurring themes in P2P. Is P2P going mainstream? And how do we keep the crowd – ie, individuals, […]
It’s always good to have an alternative view. Especially if the alternative view questions whether the “alternative” is really an effective alternative. Below, we run an extract from a blog by Chris Skinner, one of the most authoritative and interesting commentators on alternative finance. Here, writing on the specialist alternative digital currency platform, Brave New […]
Harriet Green in CityA.M. takes a look at the possible evolution of peer-to-peer (P2P) lending. Will P2P stay as the simple idea of bringing individuals seeking good returns on their loans together with small businesses seeking funds (which is our model)? Or will it evolve into a form of banking or fund management? Below we […]
Please, sirs, can we have some more? Our only complaint about last night’s Alternative Finance Forum is that there just wasn’t enough of it. The session, ably hosted by Julie Adam, of top 20 accountancy firm, Menzies, featured presentations from Close Brothers Invoice Financing, the Business Growth Fund, BMS Finance, Metro Bank, and Money&Co. CEO, Nicola […]
Here’s some good news. There’s been much scaremongering about the fact that peer-to-peer (P2P) lending is not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which guarantees the return of the first £75,000 of an investment. Ryan Weeks at AltFi reports on a possible extension of the much-criticised FSCS to cover investment advice leading to a […]
UK banks and mainstream finance in general have been much criticised – and often rightly so – for failing to lend to small businesses. Standard criticisms include a lack of agility, laborious process, and an inability to innovate and assess a business risk on the merits presented by the borrower. The banks have certainly expressed […]
If funding for small companies had its own weather report, it would probably be something like: “Sunny, with occasional showers.” Although some media reports indicate that small businesses don’t seem to be aware of alternative funding sources, such as the loans facilitated between individuals and borrowing companies by Money&Co., others cite evidence that funding is […]
Are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) really aware of alternative funding sources? Sometimes we do wonder… The latest evidence comes from Hitachi Capital, as evidenced by is4profit: “One in three small businesses are ‘digging into their own pockets’ and rejecting external finance to grow their business,” it is reported. “The study of 1,000 small business […]