Two of the principals from Montello Capital Partners have been working on an online peer-to-peer loan trading platform which is now in a soft-launch phase. The platform, called LendInvest, will allow investors to invest into new loans and will create an online market for completed loans.
The co-founders of LendInvest are Christian Faes and Ian Thomas, who have built Montello Bridging Finance into one of the leading short term real estate lenders in London. Faes is from a legal background having practiced as a lawyer in London with Clifford Chance and then in-house with Deutsche Bank. Thomas is a qualified chartered surveyor, who prior to Montello held senior positions with SEGRO and Ballymore Property Group.
The two co-founders have recently recruited David Serafini who has come on as managing director for the business. Serafini has held a number of positions in London and was previously an ex-IT analyst with the Royal Bank of Scotland. Faes and Thomas have revealed that they have been working with a team of programmers for ‘about a year’ on developing the online loan trading system.
Whilst the LendInvest crowdfunding platform is only in soft-launch, there have already been a number of deals that have been done on the platform, totalling over £3.5 million.
Managing Director David Serafini commented:
“In an environment where investors get next to zero return for cash in the bank, it is understandable that sophisticated investors are looking at sound alternative investments. LendInvest allows investors to invest in loans that are secured against real estate, and to obtain superior returns.
There are a number of peer-to-peer platforms that are out there, but this is the only platform in the UK that is for originating and funding new residential and commercial loans, and acts as an after-market for trading completed loans.
The LendInvest platform really is a revolutionary step for the UK real estate mortgage market.”