Lending Works

Lending Works Limited
Private
Industry Peer-to-peer lending
Founded 2012 (2012)
Founder Nick Harding & Matt Powell
Headquarters London, United Kingdom
Products Financial Services
Website www.lendingworks.co.uk

Lending Works is a peer-to-peer lending platform based in London, UK. Lending Works was the first peer-to-peer lending platform that has insurance to protect its lenders against borrower default, using the "Lending Works Shield".

History

Lending Works was founded in 2012[1] by Nicholas Harding,[2] who has a background in banking, and Matthew Powell, who is an accountant who previously worked at Ernst & Young. The Non-Executive Chairman, Richard Priestman, is an accountant and was previously a board director of the Finance and Leasing Association[3] and Managing Director of Corporate Businesses at Lombard Asset Finance.[4] Lending Works has raised £3.5m from investors.[5]

The company officially launched on 12 January 2014,[6][7] and facilitated more than £5million in loans during its first year.[8] Subsequent investment from industry giant P2P Global Investments and an expansion within the company then contributed to threefold growth in 2015, and by the end of H1 in 2016, more than £30 million had been lent through the platform.

Business model

Lenders

Lending Works enables lenders to lend directly to personal loan borrowers. Facilities that it offers to lenders include "quick withdraw", where lenders can exit their loan agreements early, "auto lend", where loan repayments are automatically lent out again, and "auto income", whereby lenders can take repayments from borrowers (either interest, or capital and interest) as an income paid directly to their bank account.[9] Lenders are also protected by the "Lending Works Shield" which insures against borrower defaults, fraud and cybercrime.[10]

The company expects to offer the new Innovative Finance ISA to its lenders in the near future, with its application for full FCA authorisation currently under review.[11][12]

Borrowers

Lending Works personal loans allow borrowers to repay their loans early with no penalty, and make overpayments on their loans.

Lending Works Shield

Lenders are protected by the "Lending Works Shield", which includes:

Regulation & Authorities

Financial Conduct Authority

Lending Works is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under the crowd funding regulation.[14] Lending Works has a consumer credit licence which is granted under the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

CIFAS

Lending Works is a member of CIFAS, a UK fraud prevention agency.[15]

P2P Finance Association (P2PFA)

As a member of the P2PFA, Lending Works is required to meet a set of rules and operating principles for the transparent, fair and orderly operation of P2P lending.[16]

References

  1. ↑ "WebCheck". Companies House. Companies House. Retrieved 2014-01-20.
  2. ↑ Hobey, Erin (2015-04-28). "Lending Works: CEO Nick Harding Discusses P2P, the Shield, Pensioners, ISAs & UK Regulations". Crowdfund Insider.
  3. ↑ "ANNUAL REVIEW 2010" (PDF). Finance & Leasing Association. Finance & Leasing Association. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
  4. ↑ "Priestman steps down from Lombard". LeasingLife. LeasingLife. Retrieved 2010-04-16.
  5. ↑ O'Hear, Steve (2014-01-14). "After Raising £3.5M Pre-Launch, Lending Works Opens Its P2P Loans Business In UK". Tech Crunch. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
  6. ↑ "After Raising £3.5M Pre-Launch, Lending Works Opens Its P2P Loans Business In UK". TechCrunch. 2014-01-14. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
  7. ↑ Jones, Rupert (2014-02-15). "The major peer-to-peer lenders". The Guardian.
  8. ↑ "UK's #3 P2P Lender Announces Dramatic Loan Growth During 2015". Global Banking Finance Review. London: GBAF Publications. 2016-01-13. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
  9. ↑ Evans, Tara (2016-02-17). "Peer-to-peer lending: everything you need to know about the leading websites". The Telegraph.
  10. ↑ "The Lending Works Shield". Lending Works. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  11. ↑ Todt, Michael (2016-06-08). "The latest on the Lending Works ISA". Lending Works. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  12. ↑ Jones, Rozi (2016-01-12). "Lending Works hits £20 million lending mark". Financial Reporter.
  13. ↑ "Market Leading Threefold Protection" (PDF). Lending Works. Retrieved 2014-01-20.
  14. ↑ "How the FCA will regulate crowd funding".
  15. ↑ "CIFAS Members".
  16. ↑ "P2PFA Members".

External Sources

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