Property-focused P2P lender receives full authorisation

Invest & Fund joins the ranks of the fully authorised.

Invest & Fund joins the ranks of the fully authorised.

After nearly two years of waiting, Invest & Fund has been granted full authorisation by the FCA. The specialist peer-to-peer lender focuses on residential development and bridging loans. It pivoted in that direction a few years ago, after starting out life as an SME lending platform.

Now the platform helps residential property developers secure development and bridging loans of up to £5m in size. It targets returns of 7-11 per cent per annum, and is open to both individual and institutional investors.

The platform’s chairman is Robert Burgess, a co-founder of Exchange Associates, a permanent capital vehicle which later morphed into P2PGI, one of the marketplace lending sector’s foremost investment trusts. Burgess is also on the board of buy-to-let mortgage platform Landbay. Former Barclays Capital MD Mark Kibblewhite and former Nomura Global Markets MD Brian Lynch sit alongside Burgess on the Invest & Fund board.

“FCA authorisation helps us explore more ways to unlock funding for property developers operating at the underserviced, smaller end of the market,” said Burgess. “And it builds even greater confidence across our lender base that we’re delivering a trusted, transparent service.”

While it is not exactly clear how much the platform has lent to date, the business seems to have grown during 2017. It completed a round two fundraise, joined the NACFB and grew its headcount.

“We are 100 per cent focused on residential property, supporting developers and brokers at a time when the housing market needs new sources of investment and lenders are searching for better returns,” said CEO and co-founder David Turner (pictured). “FCA authorisation shows we’re operating at the highest standards and building a trusted, specialist lending platform.”

With authorisation in hand, Invest & Fund is now free to launch an Innovative Finance ISA, subject to HMRC approval.