"At a time when macroeconomic uncertainty appears to be the prevailing narrative, more than £600 million has been lent to businesses through peer-to-peer platforms"
Its figures, covering lending volumes for its nine member platforms, show cumulative levels of lending at almost £8.5 billion.
P2PFA platforms facilitated the origination of over £1 billion, with more than 180,000 investors participating at the end of the period as well as 420,095 borrowers.
Robert Pettigrew, Director of the P2PFA, said: "The growth in peer-to-peer lending volumes over the last three months highlights the success which platforms have secured in the market – delivering a permanent shift in the financial services landscape, and providing an attractive offering for investors and borrowers.
"At a time when macroeconomic uncertainty appears to be the prevailing narrative, more than £600 million has been lent to businesses through peer-to-peer platforms in the last three months, with almost thirty-seven thousand businesses having a loan at the end of the period. It is clear that the ability of platforms to provide an offering responsive both to the aspirations of investors and the needs of borrowers has enabled a consistent pattern of growth which any sector would find attractive.
"The Government has repeated its aspiration to consolidate the United Kingdom as the centre of global FinTech; undoubtedly, the growth of peer-to-peer lending represents a key part of that story of success, and one which promises to continue serving the needs of the economy, broadening access to investor returns as well as access to finance, and delivering competition in the wider financial services ecosystem to the benefit of consumers and the broader market."
Damon Walford, Chief Development Officer at ThinCats, added: “The last three months have been an uncertain period, politically and economically, yet the peer the peer sector continues to grow in strength, exceeding more than £1billion in new loans during a quarter for the first time ever.
“This impressive milestone highlights not only the crucial role that peer to peer is now playing in the UK’s lending landscape – the continued rise in the number of borrowing businesses reflects a resilience and a confidence among UK SMEs which is encouraging for the year ahead.
“With most of the major platforms expected to get the green light for their Innovative Finance ISAs this year, the sector is in an exciting period and destined for further growth as more lenders join platforms to take advantage of the new tax free investment option.”
