Linked Finance launches new 5-year unsecured business loans
Linked Finance, Ireland’s leading peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform, has launched a five-year unsecured business loan for Irish SMEs.
This new loan of up to €300,000 is unique in the Irish market, meeting the needs of companies with more complex funding requirements and providing an attractive alternative to asset financing when companies are looking to invest in new machinery, equipment, vehicles and other capital projects. Loans are available in under 24 hours without onerous requirements to provide collateral or pay legal fees arranging security that are the norm for loans of similar length from other providers.
There is very strong market demand for a longer-term loan product that can be accessed simply and speedily. It means lenders on the platform will benefit from a larger volume of companies to lend to. 2019 was a record year of lending on the platform, with unprecedented demand from investors to deploy money meaning the majority of loans funded in one second in the final quarter of the year.
Linked Finance applies a rigorous credit checking process to vet loan applications which allows lenders with a well-diversified loan portfolio to earn net returns of 7-8%. This is particularly attractive in the current low interest rate environment, where cash savings on deposit are able to earn little or no interest.
The ability to borrow for longer periods is a further demonstration that P2P lending provides Irish business owners with an attractive alternative to traditional sources of finance. Linked Finance has provided loans totalling over €125m, for more than 2,400 ambitious local businesses in every county of the country.
Commenting on the new 5-year loan, Niall Dorrian, CEO of Linked Finance said:
“This new loan facility is unique in the Irish market as the only unsecured lending to companies over a 5-year term for amounts of up to 300,000. It allows Linked Finance to serve companies with big ambitions and more complex funding requirements without the need for them to deal with complex collateral or security pledges and expensive legal fees. This marks a new milestone for peer-to-peer lending in Ireland as an alternative to traditional lenders.
Our easy to use platform allows borrowers to make an application in less than 2 minutes, and to have the money in their account in less than 24 hours. Any company looking for longer term lending to support capital projects like buying new equipment or vehicles will benefit from this new 5-year loan. We believe that there is significant demand for longer term borrowing opportunities, and by attracting more companies to our platform in 2020 we will offer our lenders a wider range of options to deploy money at attractive interest rates.”
These new 5-year loan, at competitive rates starting at 7.95%, is part of Linked Finance’s wider growth strategy Last year Linked Finance announced plans to double headcount at its Dublin headquarters in 2020, and to date he recruitment drive has seen Linked Finance hire 11 new employees to date. There are further plans to expand throughout the year as the company builds its sales organisation to bring the benefits of P2P lending to an even wider SME audience right across Ireland.
Linked Finance is Ireland’s largest P2P lending platform. The platform offers Irish SMEs an innovative way to access business loans of up to €300,000 characterised by easy online applications, quick credit decisions and a responsive service delivered by dedicated account managers who understand the needs of Irish businesses.
Notable Irish companies that have raised funding with Linked Finance in the past include Viking Splash Tours, The Rolling Donut, Lolly & Cooks, Murphy’s Ice Cream, Iconic Offices and the Irish Fairy Door Company.
