Considering peer to peer lending and crowd investing in the UK? Below we have a list of the best peer to peer lending platforms in the UK with options for UK resident investors as well as non-residents.
What is P2P lending?
Peer-to-peer lending is simply the practice of lending money to businesses or individuals through an online platform that matches the lender with a borrower. P2P platforms are basically the websites that connect the investor with the borrower and facilitate the transaction. In the UK, many people now prefer this method of fundraising as it cuts out intermediaries.
P2P platforms in the UK offer flexibility and convenience to the borrower and higher interest rates to the investor than the traditional financial institution. There are many peer to peer lending platforms in the UK these days offering all types of lending including personal loans, car loans and even home loans.
How Safe is Peer to Peer Lending?
The security of P2P lending varies by platform. The immediate risk is that the borrower will not repay your money, also known as default. However, this is not always a problem. Many P2P platforms offer different levels of guarantees; You just have to make sure your investment is covered.
Best peer to peer lending sites in UK
This is our list of the best P2P lending sites in the UK available in 2020:
real estate partner
Property Partner is a real estate crowdfunding platform based in London, UK. It started operating in 2015 and deals in properties across the UK, usually in close proximity to major cities. The platform offers investment opportunities in both commercial and residential real estate and makes it easy to diversify your portfolio.
The platform has had an average annual return of 7.3% since its inception. There is also a resale market where investors can sell their holdings at a discount or a premium.
Click here to visit Property Partners
Real estate partner professionals
- It is open to international investors
- Large real estate portfolio to diversify your investment
Ownership Partners Cons
- The platform only offers investments in properties across the UK.
The house mass
The House Crowd is a P2P and crowd investing platform based in Manchester, UK. It has been in operation since 2011. It offers both equity-based (joint venture profit-sharing model) and debt-based investments. The platform has an average return of 9.2%.
Click here to visit The House Crowd
Die House-Crowd-Profis
- Competitive interest rates
- Multiple investment types
- Easy to use Auto Invest feature.
Die Hausmasse Cons
- Minimum investment of £1000.
CapitalRise
CapitalRise is a real estate investment platform that aims to revolutionize the old way of investing. The goal is to give all investors access to real estate opportunities previously reserved for corporations and the super-rich.
Alex Michelin, Andrew Dunn and Uma Rajah co-founded the company and launched in July 2016. Investments worth over £46m in prime development properties in central London have flowed through the platform.
Click here to visit CapitalRise
CapitalRise professionals
- Investors are not charged any fees for using the platform
- Potential returns of 8-12% pa on investments
- Innovative Finance ISA(IFISA) and offers tax-free investment income
- Founders invest personal funds in each project and give them "skin in the game".
- Professional founding members with over 75 years of industry experience
- Transparency provided with investment details including location, sales/rental dates, developer history, financial valuation, etc
- Easy application process
CapitalRise cons
- High minimum investment of £1000
- Risk of investing in prime mortgage backed loans
- Investment success not covered by theCompensation system for financial services(FSCS)
- Time consuming to conduct due diligence
CrowdProperty
CrowdProperty is a UK-based peer-to-peer home lender specializing in home bridging and development loans with low loan-to-value ratios. It is based in Birmingham, United Kingdom.
The company was founded in November 2014. The three co-founders:Mike Bristow, Andrew Hall and Simon Zutshi, and the team, haveover 100+ years of combined experiencein real estate and finance.
Click HERE to open an account with CrowdProperty
CrowdProperty professionals
- Authorized and regulated by the FCA since November 2017
- Long track record and proven experience with over 5 years in the market
- Good returns of around 8% p.a. on secured assets with excellent LTV's.
- 1. Statutory fee security for all projects
- The simple registration process and an intuitive, easy-to-navigate website
- Availability of an AutoInvest option
- Availability of an ISAand retirement loansfor tax-free investing
- A high volume of loans on the platform
- Thorough due diligence ensuring 100% repayment and minimal defaultsof capital and interest and so far no defaults
- Market-leading transparency on their stats page
- Independent verification of credit performance by Brismo
Disadvantages of CrowdProperty
- No buyback guarantee
- Absence of a secondary market
- Minimum investment requirement of £500 for each loan (unless you use AutoInvest to split the capital across up to 10 projects and invest at least £50 in each)
- AutoInvest only allows a maximum of 20% of the portfolio for lending
Invest fast
Fast Invest is a UK-based, beginner-friendly P2P investment platform founded in 2015. Their primary focus is consumer lending with a broad investor base of over 30,000 registered investors.
Click here to visit Fast Invest
Fast Invest professionals
- Minimum investment of only 1 euro
- Refund warranty
- No investment fees
- 100% pre-funded loans
Fast Invest Disadvantages
- Few types of credit
the soup
Zopa is the oldest and one of the largest P2P lending platforms in the UK, having been operating since 2005. She can be called the creator of peer-to-peer lending as we know it today. In 2017, Zopa became the first company in the UK to issue loans worth more than £2 billion.
The platform features a simple registration process and a user-friendly platform. Currently they offer three products with 3.5%, 4.5% to 6.5% p/a yield. Zopa plans to open a bank later this year.
Zopa professionals
- Long history of successful lending – Zopa has been in operation for more than 14 years and is therefore more experienced than other platforms.
- Diversity – The platform has a huge loan book to diversify your portfolio
Zopa cons
- Lower returns than most competitors
RateSetter
RateSetter is one of the leading P2P lending platforms in the UK. It was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in London. The platform is also known for launching the “Provision Fund” (an internal fund that protects lenders from bad loans) for P2P lending.
The platform currently offers three products: the rolling market with up to 2.8% annual interest, the 1-year market with up to 3.7% return and the 5-year market with up to 5.1% annual interest. Since its inception, the platform has facilitated over £2 billion worth of loans.
Click here to visit RateSetter
RateSetter professionals
- Large amount of credits – this allows you to invest your money faster
- Provident fund – coverage has developed well in recent years. The platform offers open data on current coverage and expected performance in the future
RateSetter cons
- Yields are below the market average.
- High upfront fees for longer investment products
support group
Funding Circle is one of the UK's largest peer-to-peer lending platforms, having lent over £5 billion to more than 49,000 UK businesses. It currently also operates in the United States, Germany and the Netherlands. It was launched in August 2010 and, like Zopa and Ratesetter, is trusted for its established track record.
As an investor, you can manually select the companies you want to invest in or use the autobid feature to spread the money across 100 companies. The platform promises annual returns of 5.5% – 6.5%. However, the investment is not covered, so there is a higher risk.
Click here to visit The Funding Circle
Funding Circle Profis
- Easy to diversify across many loans
- Loans are secured by business assets
Funding Circle Cons
- No provident fund to protect investors from the risk of defaulting loans
How Much Can You Earn on UK Peer to Peer Investing Platforms?
The amount you can earn on peer to peer lending platforms varies based on a variety of factors. In some cases, returns are subject to taxation, unless it's an IFISA (Innovative Finance ISA) investment, where you can use your tax-free assets for P2P lending.
The platform may also charge a transaction fee or maintenance fees. It is also important to consider the withdrawal and deposit fees that are usually charged by your bank. The return also depends, among other things, on the type of loan, the associated risk and the issuer.
Other Crowdinvesting Resources
Looking for more options? You may want to read some of our other crowd investing and peer to peer lending reviews. Many peer-to-peer lending and investing platforms are currently available, and you can diversify your interest income by using several of them at the same time.
You can consider some other peer to peer companies by checking out oursMintos Reviewor oursGrupeer review. Also check our posts on thebest peer-2-peer lending platforms in Europe, and thebest real estate crowdfunding platforms in Europe.
Already investing in UK peer-to-peer lending or another crowdfunding platform? Leave your thoughts and questions about itList of the best peer to peer lending platforms in the UKunder.
FAQs
What is the biggest peer-to-peer lender in the world? ›
LendingClub is a peer-to-peer lender and the largest online lending platform for personal loans. The platform issues loans in every state except Iowa and has worked with over 3 million customers and funded more than $55 billion in loans since its founding in 2007.
What are the peer-to-peer lending platforms in the UK? ›There are several P2P lending platforms in the UK, with more popping up every year. However, the major players include Zopa, Funding Circle and Ratesetter.
What is the oldest P2P lending platform? ›Modern peer-to-peer lending began in 2005 with the launch of Zopa in the UK. Shortly after, Prosper and LendingClub started in the US. LendingClub has since then changed focus to only institutional investors.
Which platform has the highest concentration of P2P lending platforms in Europe? ›The platform found that Spain ranks top of the pile for investment from P2P lenders in Europe, while outside of Europe, the US leads the way.
Who is Britain's biggest lender? ›Lloyds, which owns Halifax and is the UK's largest mortgage lender, reported a 46% jump in pre-tax profit to £2.3bn for the first three months of the year, up from £1.5bn a year earlier and better than the £2bn forecast by analysts.
Who is the biggest borrower in the world? ›The biggest borrowers in the past fiscal year came from two industry sectors in particular, as our chart shows. Coming out on top are automotive companies Toyota and Volkswagen with a net debt of $186 billion and $185 billion, respectively.
How big is the P2P lending market UK? ›The market size, measured by revenue, of the Peer-to-Peer Lending Platforms industry is £365.0m in 2023. What is the growth rate of the Peer-to-Peer Lending Platforms industry in the UK in 2023? The market size of the Peer-to-Peer Lending Platforms industry is expected to increase 8.7% in 2023.
What are 3 examples of P2P lending platforms? ›Peer-to-peer lending platforms connect individual borrowers with investors. The platforms earn money from fees they charge borrowers and investors. Popular sites include LendingClub, Prosper, and Funding Circle.
What is the interest rate for peer-to-peer lending UK? ›Peer-to-peer lending platforms believe they will retain a competitive advantage over traditional lenders even as the Bank of England base rate continues to creep up. Last week, the central bank raised the base rate for the eleventh consecutive time since December 2021, taking it to 4.25 per cent.
Which P2P is best? ›| Best For | APR Range | |
|---|---|---|
| Prosper | Best Overall | 6.99% - 35.99% |
| Funding Circle | Best for Small Business | 5.99% - 16.49% |
What is the famous P2P network? ›
Bittorrent, uTorrent, BitComet, Vuze and Transmission. Azureus. Emule and eDonkey. Gnutella, LimeWire and Cabos.
What is the safest P2P? ›- Zelle. To use Zelle, users need to create and set up an account first. ...
- PayPal. One of the most popular P2P services in the world, PayPal is ideal for personal money transfers and online payments. ...
- Venmo. ...
- Cash App by Square. ...
- Apple Pay. ...
- Samsung Pay. ...
- WorldRemit.
Sharing work or media through a peer-to-peer (P2P) network is legal if you own the copyright, thus you own the right to determine if and how that work is distributed. For example, you can write and produce an original song and make it available for others to download for free through a P2P file sharing program.
How to choose P2P lending platform? ›Factors to Consider When Choosing a P2P Lending Platform:
Interest Rates and Fees: Look for platforms with competitive interest rates and low fees. Compare the rates and P2P lending platform fees to find the best deal. Loan Term and Repayment Options: Check the loan term and repayment options offered by the platform.
Recent surveys by Consumer Reports have documented how widely P2P payment services are used in the U.S. Well over half of Americans (64 percent) use a P2P payment app for payments to and from individuals, including four out of five (81 percent) of the 18 to 29 age group, according to a March 2022 nationally ...
Who are the Big 5 lenders UK? ›The UK's largest mortgage lenders are Lloyds, Santander, Nationwide, Barclays, NatWest (including former Royal Bank of Scotland accounts) and HSBC.
Who are the Tier 1 lenders in the UK? ›HSBC had the highest tier 1 capital of the five largest banks in the United Kingdom in 2021, at 156.3 billion U.S. dollars. HSBC was followed by Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group.
Which bank lends the most UK? ›...
Largest mortgage lenders in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2021, by market share.
| Characteristic | Market share of gross lending |
|---|---|
| Santander UK | 10.77% |
| Barclays | 10.71% |
| HSBC Bank | 8.86% |
| Coventry BS | 3.28% |
| Characteristic | National debt in relation to GDP |
|---|---|
| Macao SAR | 0% |
| Brunei Darussalam | 2.06% |
| Kuwait | 2.92% |
| Hong Kong SAR | 4.26% |
As of January 2023, the five countries owning the most US debt are Japan ($1.1 trillion), China ($859 billion), the United Kingdom ($668 billion), Belgium ($331 billion), and Luxembourg ($318 billion).
Who owns most of the debt in the world? ›
In 1970, total foreign holdings accounted for $14.0 billion, or just 5 percent, of DHBP. As of December 2022, such holdings made up $7.3 trillion, or 30 percent, of DHBP. Of that amount, 54 percent was held by foreign governments while private investors held the remaining 46 percent.
How many P2P platforms are there in the UK? ›P2P lending crowdfunding platforms in the UK
There are 53 P2P lending crowdfunding platforms in United Kingdom. They focus on Real estate, SME, Green energy, Personal loans, Mortgages, Education or Maritime providing different investment opportunities for retail and accredited investors.
The City of London (the "Square Mile") is one of the oldest financial centres. London is ranked as one of the largest International Financial Centres in the world.
Is P2P lucrative? ›When done properly, P2P lending can be more profitable than traditional investments and provide investors with more autonomy when it comes to their investments. However, investors must be aware of platform fees and should assess the risk of any borrower before investing in them.
What are the three most popular and most used P2P networks? ›Taking into account how many clients are available for each, the current top three peer-to-peer (P2P) networks are eDonkey2000, FastTrack (derived from Kazaa), and Gnutella.
Why is TrustBuddy so famous? ›With over 200 0000 members, TrustBuddy is the biggest Peer-to-Peer provider of short term loans in the world.
Is Kiva legitimate? ›Kiva is a legitimate lending option. It received 4.6 out of 5 stars rating based on 198 Kiva loan reviews through Trustpilot. Kiva is listed as a 501(c)3 U.S. nonprofit. It was founded in 2005 and is based in San Francisco.
What is the current UK prime lending rate? ›Bank Lending Rate in United Kingdom increased to 5.25 % in March 2023. The maximum level was 18 % and minimum was 1.1 %.
What are the pitfalls of P2P lending? ›Disadvantages for the borrower
You may have to pay additional fees on top of the interest rate charged for the loan. You may have to pay a higher interest rate than that charged by traditional lenders if you have a poor credit rating. You may not even get a peer-to-peer loan if your financial profile is very poor.
P2P lending and tax
Money earned through P2P lending is usually classed as income, which means it is taxable. Most won't pay any tax at all because of the personal savings allowance. This allows basic rate taxpayers to earn up to £1,000 of tax-free interest. Higher rate taxpayers only have an allowance of £500.
What is the current P2P rate? ›
1 P2P = 0.02463 USD.
How much should I invest in P2P lending? ›Start with 50k to 2 lacs depending on your risk appetite and steadily build your portfolio. A long-term investment plan of at least 24 to 36 months is the best way to get good returns with P2P lending as the returns compound with time, increasing the return on investment.
What is the largest decentralized P2P communications protocol? ›According to its official literature, BitTorrent is currently the “largest decentralized P2P communications protocol” in the world.
Who are the P2P players in USA? ›- Lending Club.
- Prosper.
- Zopa.
- Funding Circle.
- Upstart.
- Peerform.
- LendingHome.
- Bondora.
- Unstructured P2P networks.
- Structured P2P networks.
- Hybrid P2P networks.
The risk involved with peer-to-peer lending is the risk of default by the borrower, i.e., the borrower doesn't pay the interest and the principal amount. If a borrower defaults, a P2P platform can assist the lenders in recovery and file legal notice against the defaulter.
Is Zelle a P2P? ›Most people use peer-to-peer payment apps like Venmo, Cash App and Paypal, or Zelle, a bank account-to-bank-account system, but consumer experts warn these tools do come with risks.
What is one risk of using a P2P app? ›Most P2P transactions are instantaneous and irreversible, a fact that scammers know and eagerly exploit. Don't use P2P payment services for business purposes.
How many P2P users are there in the US? ›This statistic presents the number of adult mobile phone peer-to-peer (P2P) payment users in the United States from 2016 to 2021. In 2017, 63.5 million U.S. users accessed mobile peer-to-peer payment apps.
Is it legal to use P2P in Europe? ›P2P sites will not be allowed to operate legally in Europe after November 2022 unless they hold a CSP licence. Checking that a site holds this licence will be an important part of due diligence that investors should undertake before making any investments with a new site.
Is Venmo a P2P system? ›
Google, Venmo (which is owned by PayPal) and others now offer similar services. P2P payments are also available through banks and credit unions, and on social media networks, including Facebook.
Who is the biggest peer to peer lender? ›Loan amounts
LendingClub is a peer-to-peer lender and the largest online lending platform for personal loans. The platform issues loans in every state except Iowa and has worked with over 3 million customers and funded more than $55 billion in loans since its founding in 2007.
The two biggest P2P platforms are Mintos and Twino taking over 60% and 20% of market share respectively.
What is the maximum P2P loan amount? ›Also, be careful to not compare the P2P lending rates with credit card interest rates. No borrower can have loans of more than Rs10 lakh, from all the P2P platforms combined; and no more than Rs50,000 from one lender. All loans through P2P platforms come with a payback period that cannot be more than 36 months.
What was the first P2P payment app? ›PayPal was the first P2P payment service, which is popularly used by eBay and other online retailers.
Which country has most online transactions? ›- India. The country leading the global digital economy, India, will have processed the most digital payments in 2022, with an estimated 70 billion. ...
- China. ...
- South Korea. ...
- United Kingdom. ...
- Nigeria. ...
- Japan. ...
- The United States of America. ...
- Thailand.
The Global P2P Payment Market was valued at USD 1.8 Trillion in 2021 and is expected to reach a value of USD 5.2 Trillion by 2028. Over the projection timelines, the Global Market is anticipated to grow to exhibit a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 19.5%.
Who is the largest private lender in us? ›- Rocket Mortgage. Still the biggest player, Rocket originated 464,000 loans worth $127.6 billion in 2022, according to HMDA data. ...
- United Shore Financial. ...
- LoanDepot. ...
- Wells Fargo. ...
- Fairway Independent Mortgage. ...
- Bank of America. ...
- U.S. Bank. ...
- JPMorgan Chase.
Over the past 20 years, Japan and China have owned more US Treasuries than any other foreign nation. Between 2000 and 2022, Japan grew from owning $534 billion to just over $1 trillion, while China's ownership grew from $101 billion to $855 billion.
What country is the biggest lender? ›| Rank | Country | Per Capita (in USD) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Macau | 214,934 |
| 2 | Hong Kong | 176,694 |
| 3 | Singapore | 152,935 |
| 4 | Norway | 134,631 |
How big is the peer-to-peer lending market? ›
P2P Lending Market Research Report Highlights and Statistics
The global P2P lending market size was valued at USD 82,300 million in 2021, and is expected to touch USD 804,200 million by 2030, growing at a 29.1% CAGR.
The company operates in 35 countries and serves over 70 million customers worldwide. It is a systemically important financial institution by the Financial Stability Board and is considered one of the "Big Four Banks" in the United States, alongside JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
What are the four types of private lenders? ›What Are the Different Types of Private Lenders? In the private commercial real estate lending industry, there are several types of private lenders 1) a private individual, 2) a private equity fund or firm, 3) a family office, 4) a hedge fund, and lastly, 5) a self-funded specialty finance company.
Can you make money as a private lender? ›Large Profit
You can earn from your capital as a lender, and private lending is a more lucrative investment than keeping cash in a bank. You also have the option to establish a greater interest rate than traditional lenders like banks and credit unions, which implies you will make more money.
| Characteristic | National debt in relation to GDP |
|---|---|
| Macao SAR | 0% |
| Brunei Darussalam | 2.06% |
| Kuwait | 2.92% |
| Hong Kong SAR | 4.26% |
Continuing a trend that began early in 2021, China's portfolio of U.S. government debt in May dropped to $980.8 billion, according to Treasury Department data released Monday. That's a decline of nearly $23 billion from April and down nearly $100 billion, or 9%, from the year-earlier month.
What countries do the U.S. owe money to? ›- Japan. Japan held $1.08 trillion in Treasury securities as of November 2022, beating out China as the largest foreign holder of U.S. debt. ...
- China. China gets a lot of attention for holding a big chunk of the U.S. government's debt. ...
- The United Kingdom. ...
- Belgium. ...
- Luxembourg.
FICO ® SCORES ARE USED BY 90% OF TOP LENDERS.
What is the largest financial hub in the US? ›New York City.
Since the middle of the 20th century, New York City, represented by Wall Street in Manhattan's Financial District, has been described as a leading financial centre.
At the end of 2021, of the 98 countries for whom data was available, Pakistan ($27.4 billion of external debt to China), Angola (22.0 billion), Ethiopia (7.4 billion), Kenya (7.4 billion) and Sri Lanka (7.2 billion) held the biggest debts to China.
What is the average ROI on P2P lending? ›
The Advantages of Peer-to-Peer Lending for Investors
Peer-to-peer lending can provide higher returns than many savings accounts or traditional investing accounts. For example, Prosper's peer-to-peer lending platform reports that it has provided average historical returns of 3.5% to 7.5%.
Peer-to-peer business lending has the lowest volume among all entities, but has been growing steadily since 2012, amounting to 4.02 billion British pounds in 2020.