P2PGI Planning Further Equity Issue

One of the best-known institutional investment vehicles in the P2P space is planning to raise another round of funding.

P2PGI initially raised £200m via IPO on the London Stock Exchange in May 2014. The company went on to raise a further £250m in January 2015 through a C Share issue. This morning P2PGI published a circular which confirms that 67% of the net proceeds of the C Share issue have now been deployed. The deployment rate is reportedly exceeding expectation, and the company expects to reach full deployment in advance of the original 6 to 9 month target.

The rapid rate of deployment appears to have served as the impetus to consider raising more money. The P2PGI board is now “actively considering” the issuance of a fresh batch of C Shares. Such an action is dependent on relevant shareholder approvals, which will be sought at the company’s general meeting on 15^th June 2015. Prevailing market conditions and investor demand will of course be factored into the final decision as well. In the event of a further equity issue, existing C Shares would be converted into ordinary shares prior to the offering of any new C Shares.

In terms of a time frame, “the coming months” is all we have for now, but we expect more in the way of detail to arrive soon.

Each of the company’s previous share offerings have been fully subscribed within days of commencement. P2PGI’s C Shares are currently trading at 1,080.00p per share. Upon issuance in late January those shares were worth just shy of 1,060.00p a piece.

Specialised fund activity in the alternative lending sector is hurtling upwards. Victory Park Capital’s Specialty Lending Investments floated on the London Stock Exchange in March, raising £200m. A month later, the Ranger Direct Lending Fund raised £155m through another LSE IPO. P2PGI is ahead of the pack for the time being, but it will need to keep raising money to stay there.