CEO resigns from branch-based P2P firm

Jane Dumeresque to step down from peer-to-peer lending business Folk2Folk.

Folk2Folk’s CEO is stepping down in a move that seems to have caught some within the firm by surprise. Jane Dumeresque (pictured) will leave her post some time this month.

Tim Sawyer, chairman of the company, will be stepping in as interim CEO while the firm searches for a long-term replacement.

“Jane has brought us a long way in a short period of time,” he said. “The culture and legacy she has created will stay with us in the years to come. We wish her well for the future.”

Folk2Folk has said in a statement that a replacement will be announced in due course. But the company has been explicit that no further comment will be given on the resignation at present. This, coupled with the suddenness of Dumeresque’s departure, raises questions about what exactly has transpired.

Folk2Folk is perhaps unique for taking a branch-based approach to peer-to-peer lending. The SME lending platform is in the process of a gradual expansion across the UK, after having initially operated in Cornwall. Each time it expands to a new region it opens a branch, spurring on local uptake. 

Dumeresque joined the platform in May 2015. She previously worked as director and company secretary at AIM-listed firm AFC Energy. Under her stewardship, Folk2Folk has been granted full authorisation from the FCA, launched its IFISA, joined the Peer-to-Peer Finance Association and significantly expanded its national footprint.

The platform has lent around £172m to date, according to AltFi Data. It has set its sights on facilitating £1bn in lending by 2020.