Over a third (37%; £18.5m) of that £50m interest has been returned to lenders in the last year alone. Zopa, which pioneered P2P lending in 2005, expects to reach £1bn in total lending later this summer with the UK P2P industry set to reach £3bn in total lending by the end of 2015.
The Treasury recently included P2P lending in the personal savings tax allowance due in April 2016, and is set to confirm how peer-to-peer lending will sit within ISAs later this summer.
Giles Andrews, Zopa’s CEO and co-founder, said:
“Delivering on our promise to return our lenders’ money with a total of £50m interest over the past 10 years is a testament to Zopa and P2P lending as an asset class.”
“This has been made possible because our customers trust us to match their money to the UK’s most responsible borrowers. Reaching £50m in interest is further proof that Zopa & P2P lending is becoming a mainstream and trusted way for thousands of consumers to grow their money and get a better deal by side-stepping the banks.”