Peer-to-peer mortgage lenders LendInvest have revealed they were inundated with deposits – after lowering the minimum investment amount to £1,000.
The company – which has given out £200 million since launching in 2013 – provides property loans to businesses and entrepreneurs.
Cash is collected from savers and investors who deposit their money with the firm in return for a higher rate of interest than banks offer.
In late December, LendInvest reduced its minimum investment amount from £10,000 to £1,000. Since opening up the platform to smaller investors, the platform has experienced a 52 per cent increase in investment requests.
LendInvest launched in May 2013, and initially had a minimum investment amount of £50,000. This was subsequently reduced to £10,000, and the platform now allows investors that are wanting to invest £1,000 upwards.
This makes LendInvest’s superior returns, which are secured against UK property, more available to mainstream investors. It also allows existing investors to further diversify their investments on the platform.
CEO Christian Faes said: ‘We have made a huge investment in the development of our technology, and we now have a platform that has the foundations to scale significantly. We wanted to make sure that we could cope with the increased investor interest in LendInvest, and had the most robust system possible, before we opened up the platform to the everyday investor.
‘The returns that LendInvest gives investors are of the best in the peer-to-peer market. These investor returns all come with the comfort that the loan is secured by first registered charge against UK property, and underwritten by an experienced lending team with a track record of over 6 years.’
