LendInvest fund sees 40% growth in assets

The firm has seen strong inflows in 2019, bucking a trend of uncertainty in the UK alternative lending industry.

Property-focused fintech lender LendInvest has seen a 40 per cent increase in the assets under management (AUM) of its flagship real estate debt fund in 2019 to £250m. 

This caps a record year of fundraising for LendInvest, which includes a £259m RMBS securitisation and two £200m investments from major financial partners. 

In November, LendInvest secured £23m of new investment for its Real Estate Opportunity Fund, from an international group of investors including a Japanese bank and a Dutch insurer, in addition to a mixture of endowments, asset managers and family offices from across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. 

The LendInvest Real Estate Opportunity Fund is domiciled in Luxembourg and aims to deliver income-driven returns to investors with downside protection through a short-dated lending strategy.

All loans held by the fund are secured by UK real estate. November’s strong inflows follow the fund’s third biggest ever month for net inflows in October. 

Rod Lockhart, Head of Capital Markets & Fund Management at LendInvest, said: “LendInvest continues to attract capital from all over the world on the strength of its platform and compelling investment proposition. Despite the distractions of Brexit and an unscheduled General Election, the conditions for direct lending’s growth in UK property are good. The appetite to invest in the UK real estate debt is strong and investors are making well-judged decisions about where to allocate capital.”