Politics is a messy business – and it’s certainly not our business. We engage in the often exciting and rewarding business of bringing individuals look for a good return on cash together with carefully vetted small and medium-sized companies looking for funds to fuel growth. Nevertheless, the topic of Brexit is inescapable, as this political […]
We’ve consistently argued that staying in the single market is the best outcome for the businesses – and the lenders – we are here to serve. That’s simply an observation based on what we see as the best conditions in which small and medium-sized businesses, the lifeblood of the UK economy, can operate. As we write, […]
Just as we were once exhorted to Dig For Victory, it seems we’re going to have to Dig Deep For Growth. Our friends at CityA.M. report on the Federation of Small Businesses’ demands for its Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise members as Brexit approaches. “The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) wants the British Business Bank to […]
The Autumn Statement was something of a non-event. Soon, indeed, it will no longer be an event at all, as Chancellor Hammond informed us that the Autumn Statement was to be discontinued. This common-sense pronouncement was the most significant news item of the day. In the lull after the non-storm, we bring you a rather […]
From a lender’s perspective, lending money to small companies is all about getting good returns on capital. The borrowing small company typically wants the money to fund growth. But what are the prospects for growth, following the Brexit vote? Our friends at Bloomberg take a long look the prospects for British peer-to-peer lenders, who “were […]
Our friends at Crowdfundinsider showcase an opinion piece on regulation by Italian lawyer, Alessandro Perro. The focus is on regulation. Mr Perro points out: “The European internal market exploded: more than E5.4 billion was collected through alternative finance in 2015, according to a University of Cambridge report, with about E7 billion forecasted by the end of […]
Today is the BBC’s Brexit day. Our CEO, Nicola Horlick has made her views clear on Radio 5’s Wake Up To Money and on Radio 4’s Today programme. For peer-to-peer (P2P) lenders, she argues the overall effect of Brexit is not good. But what about the effects of Brexit on the other side of the crowdfunding […]
The three Brexiteers – Johnson, Davis and Fox – are reporting to the cabinet at Chequers today. The meeting promises to be lively. Not least because, according to Whitehall gossip, corroborated by a hearsay quote run by the BBC, “the three men ‘hate each other’”. The agenda itself, one assumes, will consist of: The legal […]
One of our favourite alternative-finance writers, Harriet Green of CityA.M. (not the chunky bowler pictured above, obviously – but cricket is relevant), looks at minibonds, in the light of the recent base-rate cut and the Brexit decision. “Following the Brexit decision, lower interest rates are likely to see investors looking for alternative ways of seeking […]
A recurring theme of our coverage of the alternative-finance sector is commentary on what’s happening on the equity side of the crowdfunding fence. As providers of debt funding for more mature small and medium-sized businesses (average age of our borrowers, 12 years-plus), we see equity crowdfunders as cousins, not competitors. Equity raises tend to come […]