Peer-2-Peer lender turns six-figure profit

By Nicky Godding

1 May 2020

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FOLK2FOLK, the Gloucestershire-based peer-to-peer lending company, has turned a six-figure post-tax profit in its 2019 financial year. With this achievement, FOLK2FOLK joins the ranks of the few peer to peer (P2P) platforms to have achieved profitability.

FOLK2FOLK reported a profit of £198,000 for the financial year February 2019 to January 2020.

The company paid tribute to its new Managing Director Roy Warren, who stepped up into the role from his previous position as Head of Risk & Loan Portfolio.

2019 saw FOLK2FOLK streamline its loan origination; complete its largest loan; sign its first local authority investor; and maintain the loyalty of its retail investor customers at a time when other platforms jettisoned their retail investor focus following the rollout of new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules in December.

Roy Warren, FOLK2FOLK Managing Director, said: “Platform profitability has become increasingly important, not just for the FCA, but for retail and institutional investor decision-making. Many view it as an indicator of whether a peer to peer platform is viable and has a sustainable future.

“I’m proud that FOLK2FOLK has made a big step forward in building its financial strength, including strong positive cashflow. Achieving profitability despite the market-impacting forces of Brexit, the election and now coronavirus is a significant breakthrough for the company and testament to our team’s commitment and our customers’ loyalty“.

Since the start of the coronavirus crisis in February, FOLK2FOLK has seen a continuing trend in business levels, facilitating £8 million of loans and investments, bringing the company’s cumulative lending volume to in excess of £350 million.

Roy added: “Stability of peer-to-peer platforms is important right now. Creditworthy businesses in the wider South West, which can’t access finance from their bank, need alternative finance providers. We’re grateful that our profitability status puts FOLK2FOLK in a strong position to be able to continue to do that.”

Unlike some other P2P platforms, FOLK2FOLK has kept its secondary market operating and not introduced new fees for borrowers or investors; it remains free to invest via the platform. The company has applied to the British Business Bank to become an accredited lender under the government’s coronavirus loan interruption scheme (CBILS) and is awaiting to hear the outcome.

By 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.