UK – Passive income

1pm now offers on Mintos p2p lending marketplace the chance to select loans based on risk categories

By MPI3rd May 2018News, Peer-to-Peer Lending1pm, investment, loans, Mintos, peer-to-peer lending, risk category, UK

1pm is the latest loan originator to offer Mintos investors the opportunity to select its loans for investment based on loan risk categories. The inclusion of the risk categories will allow you to make a more informed investment decision and, therefore, increase your chances of success.

1pm was the first loan originator from the United Kingdom to launch on Mintos, offering its business loans for investment. Now you can select your investments in its loans based on its five risk categories which assess the likelihood of the borrower defaulting on their loan. The link between the borrower default rate and the risk categories is based on real-world statistics collected by a variety of credit agencies. These agencies collect extensive global credit reporting information and compare the company’s who default based on industry and size amongst other factors to forecast which company’s are the most likely to default within the next 12 months.

Category	Scoring	EABDR*
Very low risk	71 – 100	0.09%
Low risk	51 – 70	0.30%
Moderate risk	30 – 50	0.46%
High risk	21 – 29	2.32%
Very high risk	1 – 20	8.37%

*Expected Annual Bad Debt Rate

1pm bases its risk categories on the size of the business determined by the criteria of Companies House – a United Kingdom government department which incorporates and dissolves limited companies, examines and stores company information and makes it available for the public. Other factors taken into consideration when assessing the creditworthiness of a borrower is information on the business, commercial track records, directors, consumer track records, financial trend information, payment performance, company size, age of business, industry sector, geographical region and management and owners of the business.

The inclusion of the risk categories will allow you to make a more informed investment decision and increase your chances of success.

1pm was founded in 2000 and listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2006. The company offers many finance solutions to SMEs within the United Kingdom including asset and vehicle finance, hire purchase, commercial loans and invoice financing. It is dedicated to helping the United Kingdom’s economy grow by providing finance to businesses. The company joined Mintos in February 2018.

First loan originator from the United Kingdom launches on Mintos

By MPI27th February 2018News, Peer-to-Peer Lending1pm, business loans, FCA, GBP, Mintos, SMEs, UK

The first British loan originator launches on Mintos. 1pm is an FCA accredited non-bank finance provider which is publicly listed on the AIM market on the London Stock Exchange. The company provides various loan types to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Britain. On Mintos 1pm now offers business loans for investment in British pounds (GBP), and you can enjoy a net return of up to 11%.

1pm was founded in 2000 and listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2006. The company is dedicated to helping the United Kingdom’s economy grow by providing finance to businesses. It offers many finance solutions to SMEs within the United Kingdom including asset and vehicle finance, hire purchase, commercial loans and invoice financing.FCA,

1pm currently operates from eight sites across the United Kingdom. The company employs 170 people and has more than 16,000 small businesses as clients. 1pm offers its customers great flexibility, high-quality service and a personal approach. Based on customer surveys 1pm is seen as flexible, personal, trusted and fair.

“An important part of our strategic growth plan is to harness the benefits of financial technology. By joining the Mintos marketplace, we will now be able to accelerate the amount of loans that are originated by our business and to access retail global investors efficiently, a funding source that would be unavailable to us without this digital capability,” says CEO of 1pm plc Ian Smith.

1pm business loans from the United Kingdom on Mintos range from GBP 3 000 to 50 000. The repayment period is from 3 months to 5 years. Investors can expect a yearly net return of up to 11%.

1pm will maintain 10% of each loan placed on Mintos on its balance sheet. Loans from the company have a low level of risk, historically net bad debt has been less than 1% of its total loan portfolio. All loans from 1pm are secured with a personal guarantee from the owner or director of the company which the loan is provided.

1pm has a total lease, loan and invoice finance portfolio of GBP 130 million. The interim financial results for the six-month period that ended on 30 November 2017 for 1pm plc showed the group’s revenue increased by 74% to GBP 13.9 million. Profit before tax for the group increased by 77% to GBP 3.6 million.

According to the UK Alternative Finance Industry Report, the alternative finance market grew by 43% between 2016 to 2017. The alternative lending industry in the United Kingdom has become an essential way for SMEs to access funds. Currently, there are around 5.5 million SMEs in the United Kingdom which employ about 15.6 million people according to BEIS Business Population Estimates. During 2016 the alternative lending industry provided an equivalent of 15% of all new loans lent to small businesses by United Kingdom banks.

“The United Kingdom has one of the largest alternative finance markets in the world. We are very excited to have expanded Mintos into this geography by launching 1pm on the marketplace. The company is a great addition and offers investors on Mintos a new geography and further opportunities in GBP investments. We look forward to this partnership with 1pm and to seeing further partnerships arise in this market,” says Martins Sulte, CEO and Co-founder of Mintos.

Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity and invest in Britain-issued business loans from 1pm now!

Zopa peer-to-peer lending marketplace overview

By MPI1st August 2017Peer-to-Peer Lendinginvest, marketplace, peer-to-peer lending, UK, Zopa

Zopa logo

Zopa is a peer-to-peer lending marketplace, founded in 2004, based in UK.

Key figures

200 employees working in their London Bridge office
lent more than £2.49 billion to UK consumers
lent over £800 million over the last 12 months
over 60,000 active individual investors (average amount lent: £13,000)
over 277,000 borrowers approved (borrowing on average £6,600)
a select group of institutional partners

Timeline

2004 – Zopa is founded as a market place for lending and borrowing with a management team drawn from those who founded Egg in the UK
2005 – Zopa is launched to the public and originates its first loan
2008 – The financial crisis hits and Zopa continues to provide positive returns to investors throughout
2013 – Zopa launches the Safeguard fund as a tax-efficient way for investors to offset bad debt
2014 – The Financial Conduct Authority starts regulating the peer-to-peer industry, a move that Zopa has long supported
2014 – Zopa starts working with institutional investors, allowing a more diverse customer base
2016 – Zopa launches a new suite of investment products: Zopa Access, Zopa Classic and Zopa Plus, giving investors more choice in how they lend their money
2016 – opa announces plans to launch a next generation bank, offering FSCS-protected savings products and overdraft alternatives
2017 – Zopa is granted full authorisation by the Financial Conduct Authority for peer-to-peer lending (Article 36H)
2017 – Zopa opens a development centre in Barcelona
2017 – Zopa launches the Zopa IFISA, allowing customers to earn tax free interest on their peer-to-peer investments, and Zopa Core, its latest peer-to-peer investment product

Who can invest through Zopa?

Anyone aged 18 or above who is a UK resident and has a UK current account can invest through Zopa without restriction.
To get started go to Lend your money and select “Find out more”.

Channel Islands and Isle of Man residents

HMRC have granted Zopa dispensation from withholding tax on investors’ returns – this means they can be paid gross, and it is the investor’s responsibility to declare it. This applies to investing and borrowing that occurs within the UK.

For tax purposes, HMRC consider the Crown dependencies (this includes the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) as a non-UK residency. HMRC have advised us that in such circumstances, either the person paying the interest (i.e. the borrower) or Zopa itself must withhold tax. Unfortunately, logistical limitations prevent Zopa being able to permit off-shore lending at this time.

What is the minimum amount that can be lend in each product?

For Zopa Access and Zopa Classic, you’ll be able to lend from as little as £10.
For Zopa Plus and Zopa Core, given these products are not Safeguarded, Zopa want to ensure that customers’ loan books are adequately diversified, to help investors manage the risk of default. Therefore, they’ll require a minimum investment level of £1,000 from customers who wish to invest in these products.
There is no maximum to the amount you can lend.

What are the loan markets?

Zopa borrowers are put into loan markets based on their credit rating, how much they would like to borrow, and for how long.
Zopa have the following markets: A*, A, B, C1, D and E for each of the lending terms (up to 5 years). The letter refers to the borrower’s credit quality, with A* rated borrowers being the most creditworthy, then A rated borrowers, B rated borrowers etc.
You can see the expected defaults and projected annualised returns for each of these individual markets on the Introducing Zopa’s Risk Markets page.

Are there any fees associated with peer-to-peer investments at Zopa?

Zopa applyes a loan servicing fee to each loan contract, which is deducted directly from each borrower repayment before the principal and interest is passed on to investors. The cost of the loan servicing fee may vary between investment products.
A loan servicing fee is: a monthly fee, calculated using the Zopa Servicing Rate under the Loan Contract to cover the cost of administering Loan Contracts and which may include a Safeguard Contribution (to the extent that the full amount for the Safeguard Contribution was not included in the Borrowing Fee).