The UK Peer-to-Peer Finance Association (P2PFA) has published fourth quarter numbers for member platforms. According to their data, cumulative lending now tops £9.5 billion with over £800 million originated during the period.
The P2PFA states that platforms facilitated loans worth nearly £3 billion during 2018. The advocacy group says there is “further evidence of the maturity of the UK peer-to-peer lending market is revealed.”
In Q4, P2PFA platforms originnated £527 million to businesses and £282 million to almost a quarter-of-a-million consumers. Cumulative lending among P2PFA platforms has now exceeded £5.5 billion for business lending and £4 billion for consumer lending.
Robert Pettigrew, Director of the P2PFA, said there was marked growth in levels of new lending facilitated by P2PFA members during the last three months of 2018, calling the contribution of P2P lending platforms to UK businesses and consumers “increasingly significant.”
Pettigrew added that the increase in the number of lenders and borrowers during 2018 confirms “growing awareness of, and confidence in, the offering of P2PFA platforms.”
Pettigrew said there is clear evidence the market is maturing and discerning consumers are increasingly aware of the variety of choice available.
“It is clear that customers are progressively savvy when selecting their loan provider – through increased use of online channels and price comparison sites. Feedback demonstrates that consumers appreciate the comparatively great value rates available through P2PFA platforms, as well as features such as ‘soft searches’ – where providers can get a personalised loan quote without marking their credit score – and no early repayment charges. In consequence, peer-to-peer loan providers are offering an increasingly attractive offering to customers.”
The P2PFA) was established in 2011 as a representative and self-regulatory body for debt-based peer-to-peer lending. The P2PFA promotes a high standard of business conduct and works with policy-makers and regulators to ensure an effective regulatory regime.
The member platforms are: CrowdProperty, Crowdstacker, Folk2Folk, Funding Circle, Landbay, Lending Works, ThinCats and Zopa.
Aggregate levels of peer-to-peer lending by P2PFA platforms between Q4 2017 and Q4 2018:
| Q4 2017 | Q1 2018 | Q2 2018 | Q3 2018 | Q4 2018 | |
| Cumulative Lending | £6,667,077,468 | £7,351,861,354 | £8,043,217,143 | £8,786,291,681 | £9,595,548,965 |
| -o/w lending to businesses | £3,671,748,424 | £4,088,460,534 | £4,509,345,016 | £4,991,382,520 | £5,519,645,135 |
| -o/w lending to individuals | £2,994,329,042 | £3,263,400,820 | £3,533,871,127 | £3,794,909,161 | £4,077,318,465 |
| Base stock of loans
(outstanding loan book) |
£3,225,818,774 | £3,498,065,429 | £3,711,828,191 | £3,956,885,758 | £4,267,975,224 |
| -o/w lending to businesses | £1,938,776,569 | £2,137,799,594 | £2,290,747,092 | £2,488,949,319 | £2,743,083,518 |
| -o/w lending to individuals | £1,287,042,205 | £1,360,265,835 | £1,421,081,099 | £1,467,936,439 | £1,524,891,706 |
| New Lending | £672,287,727 | £684,290,716 | £690,971,072 | £720,979,029 | £809,257,285 |
| -o/w lending to businesses | £406,835,162 | £415,229,498 | £420,499,764 | £459,941,996 | £526,777,616 |
| -o/w lending to individuals | £265,752,565 | £269,061,218 | £270,471,308 | £261,037,033 | £282,479,669 |
| Capital Repaid | £394,909,990 | £396,757,358 | £435,267,000 | £457,325,319 | £454,966,728 |
| -o/w lending to businesses | £212,383,293 | £200,919,771 | £225,610,955 | £243,143,627 | £243,389,445 |
| -o/w lending to individuals | £182,526,697 | £195,837,587 | £209,656,045 | £214,181,692 | £211,577,283 |
| Net Lending Flow | £277,677,738 | £287,533,338 | £255,202,073 | £263,036,509 | £354,293,557 |
| -o/w lending to businesses | £194,451,870 | £214,309,707 | £194,386,810 | £216,181,168 | £283,391,171 |
| -o/w lending to individuals | £83,225,868 | £73,223,631 | £60,815,263 | £46,855,341 | £70,902,386 |
| Number of current lenders | 138,493 | 147,882 | 150,041 | 148,484 | 151,207 |
| Number of current borrowers | 260,256 | 273,301 | 269,158 | 278,313 | 288,829 |
| -o/w are businesses | 45,980 | 51,508 | 40,615 | 43,830 | 47,457 |
| -o/w are individuals | 214,276 | 221,793 | 228,543 | 234,483 | 241,372 |
Cumulative P2PFA platform level lending data between Q4 2017 and Q4 2018:
| Q4 2017 | Q1 2018 | Q2 2018 | Q3 2018 | Q4 2018 | |
| CrowdProperty | £23,013,692 | £27,127,892 | |||
| Crowdstacker | £35,209,322 | £37,714,968 | £46,612,890 | £51,265,724 | £54,310,946 |
| Folk2Folk | £191,918,805 | £212,510,805 | £234,562,305 | £257,130,306 | £270,860,306 |
| Funding Circle | £3,093,910,983 | £3,448,615,744 | £3,806,000,000 | £4,183,000,000 | £4,625,000,000 |
| Landbay | £82,627,314 | £109,445,017 | £133,771,821 | £182,891,798 | £231,907,991 |
| Lending Works | £83,183,353 | £98,772,559 | £115,658,873 | £131,862,745 | £145,075,844 |
| ThinCats | £269,082,000 | £280,174,000 | £288,398,000 | £294,091,000 | £309,953,000 |
| Zopa | £2,911,145,689 | £3,164,628,261 | £3,418,213,254 | £3,663,046,416 | £3,932,312,986 |
| TOTAL | £6,667,077,466 | £7,351,861,354 | £8,043,217,143 | £8,786,291,681 | £9,595,548,965 |