Risk Summary

Estimated reading time: 2 min

Due to the potential for losses, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) considers this investment to be high risk.

What are the key risks?

1. You could lose the money you invest

  • Many peer-to-peer (P2P) loans are made to borrowers who can’t borrow money from traditional lenders such as banks. These borrowers have a higher risk of not paying you back.

  • Advertised rates of return aren’t guaranteed. If a borrower doesn’t pay you back as agreed, you could earn less money than expected. A higher advertised rate of return means a higher risk of losing your money.

  • These investments can be held in an Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA). An IFISA does not reduce the risk of the investment or protect you from losses, so you can still lose all your money. It only means that any potential gains from your investment will be tax free.

2. You are unlikely to get your money back quickly

  • Some P2P loans last for several years. You should be prepared to wait for your money to be returned even if the borrower repays on time.

  • Some platforms may give you the opportunity to sell your investment early through a ‘secondary market’, but there is no guarantee you will be able to find someone willing to buy.

  • Even if your agreement is advertised as affording early access to your money, you will only get your money early if someone else wants to buy your loan(s). If no one wants to buy, it could take longer to get your money back.

3. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket

  • Putting all your money into a single business or type of investment for example, is risky. Spreading your money across different investments makes you less dependent on any one to do well.

  • A good rule of thumb is not to invest more than 10% of your money in high-risk investments.

4. The P2P platform could fail

  • If the platform fails, it may be impossible for you to collect money on your loan. It could take years to get your money back, or you may not get it back at all. Even if the platform has plans in place to prevent this, they may not work in a disorderly failure.

5. You are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong

  • The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), in relation to claims against failed regulated firms, does not cover investments in P2P loans. You may be able to claim if you received regulated advice to invest in P2P, and the adviser has since failed. Try the FSCS investment protection checker here.

  • Protection from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) does not cover poor investment performance. If you have a complaint against an FCA-regulated platform, FOS may be able to consider it. Learn more about FOS protection here.

If you are interested in learning more about how to protect yourself, visit the FCA’s website here. For further information about peer-to-peer lending (loan-based crowdfunding), visit the FCA’s website here.

Statistics

Funded So Far

Average Return p.a.

Portfolio Performance

Late >90 days

0%

Late >180 days

0%

Loss

0%

Expected and actual default rate and arrears

2017201820192020202120222023TOTAL
Number of loans416162425374126
Total GDV Funded£797,000£8,016,400£8,531,800£22,855,000£26,681,000 £32,665,000 £2,525,000£102,071,200
Average Loan Term per project (months)22 20.119.418.820.320.418.7520
Expected default rate0%1%1%1%3%3%3%1.5%
Actual arrears0%0%0%0%0%0%0%0%
Number of Projects Defaulted01000001
Number of Projects in Recovery00000000
Number of Loans Recovered01000001
Number of projects in arrears00000000
Loss00000000

The expected default rate is arrived at by forecasting actual losses as percentage of the loans made in that year after the recovery of security. Security is obtained in various forms and recovery can takes several weeks or months. This figure represents our best estimates of the eventual loss, however it is not a reliable indicator of future results or actual default rates. These figures provide only a guide to expected performance but cannot take into account the actual performance 
of individual borrowers or of the property market.

Actual arrears are shown as a percentage of the loans made in that year if payments on a loan are in arrear for longer than 90 days.

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.

View our 2021-2022 Outcomes Statement

View our 2020-2021 Outcomes Statement

View our 2019-2020 Outcomes Statement