Lendtech Blend Network gets £10m funding
Blend Network, the UK-based P2P property lending platform, has completed £10 million in a late-seed round of financing.
Investors included Cyrus Ardalan, former vice-chairman of Barclays and current chairman of OakNorth bank and Citigroup Global Markets; former CEO and current chairman of Publicis Group Maurice Levy; and Jean-Phillipe Blochet, co-founder of Brevan Howard.
Yann Murciano, chief executive at Blend Network, comments: “This year, we have proven the model. Next year, it’s all about scaling it while maintaining the high level of enhanced due diligence for which we pride ourselves.”
This fresh investment will help Blend Network expand its underwriting and marketing efforts, as well as accelerate product development.
Through Blend Network, lenders can invest in property-secured loans at an average 12% return p.a.
Private lenders can co-invest from £1,000 with “high net worth lenders” in the same deal, in a move that it reckons is leading to the increasing “democratisation” of investing.
The firm was officially launched in January 2018 and says it has lent £5 million to 20 projects across Northern Ireland, Scotland and the north of England.
