FOLK2FOLK lending tops £200 million: not our most valued metric says CEO

Published by

Nicky Godding

FOLK2FOLK, the Peer-to-Peer lending platform for local and rural businesses, has lent £200 million in capital to hundreds of local businesses across the UK.

The organisation says the milestone demonstrates the strong demand in the company’s local lending movement.

FOLK2FOLK is an award-winning Peer-to-Peer lending platform, having been awarded “Altfi Best Lending Platform for Small Business 2015” and “AltFi Up and Coming Business Platform of the Year 2016”. In November 2017, FOLK2FOLK was awarded “Small Business of the Year 2017” at the Western Morning News business awards.

FOLK2FOLK became authorised and regulated by the FCA in 2016 and became a member of the P2PFA in 2017.

The £200 million has enabled hundreds of businesses across the UK in agriculture, the visitor economy and property sectors to grow, diversify or refinance, adding value to the UK economy by creating additional revenues and local jobs. This local economic model, which the organisation calls Folkonomics, is helping to build socially and financially successful communities as part of its local lending movement.

The lending milestone was reached thanks to a growing community of local lenders who have placed £20,000 or above on FOLK2FOLK’s platform. The average lend per lender now exceeds £65,000. Lenders receive 6.5 per cent per annum interest paid monthly, helping them achieve their financial goals, whether it be an additional income for retirement or funding a life event like a once in a lifetime holiday.

Giles Cross, FOLK2FOLK CEO, said: “Reaching £200 million lent highlights the important role FOLK2FOLK plays in rural areas, providing a lifeline to many businesses seeking debt finance for growth, diversification or development. That said, £200 million lent cumulatively isn’t the metric that really excites me. What motivates me, is not the volume of money lent but the number of businesses we’ve helped access the capital they need to secure their growth, development and diversify. That’s the number I care about the most, and I’m excited that FOLK2FOLK will continue to help hundreds more businesses across rural communities as we grow.”

FOLK2FOLK secures all loans against UK property and reports zero customer losses on the platform since inception in 2013. With peer-to-peer lending, capital is at risk and is not covered by the FSCS.

FOLK2FOLK became authorised and regulated by the FCA in 2016 and became a member of the P2PFA in 2017.

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.