Growth Street is now an FCA registered Appointed Representative. Growth Street will now be able to accept individual investors on its peer to peer lending platform. Growth Street, an alternative finance platform for SMEs, previously only accepted incorporated businesses to lend and borrow to each other on their platform. By expanding the range of investors, Growth Street seeks to provide more businesses with a GrowthLine, its business overdraft alternative. Growth Street has partnered with Resolution Compliance to expand its activities but stated it would continue with its own direct application with the FCA.
Growth Street uses cloud-based software to review business financial data, designed to result in better credit terms at fairer prices. Investors have some additional protection as Growth Street has created a protection fund to cover both expected and unexpected losses, and the ability to withdraw funds at 30 days’ notice.
James Sherwin-Smith, CEO of Growth Street, called the move an important step in their platform growth;
“Becoming an Appointed Representative is an important step in the regulatory journey for Growth Street. While we continue with our application to be a regulated firm in our own right, by acting as an Appointed Representative of Resolution Compliance we can increase our regulatory experience by working alongside a partner that has one of the strongest track records in an otherwise immature industry.”