LendInvest secures £40m line of funding

UK-based marketplace property lender LendInvest has secured a £40 million (€51 million; $58 million) line of funding from Australian investment firm Macquarie.

The warehouse facility will assist LendInvest in providing bridging and buy-to-let loans. The marketplace lender expects to fully deploy the capital this year. It operates in the UK real estate market, primarily focusing on London and south-east England, although it is not restricted to these regions.

LendInvest’s average loans are worth £600,000 and in the commercial real estate market it is a relatively small player. Its funding base comprises retail investors, institutional investors and its own capital commitments.

But Macquarie’s investment is the marketplace lender’s fourth bank funding line and raises total institutional investment to £230 million. Macquarie’s targeted return on the investment was not disclosed.

Rod Lockhart, managing director of LendInvest’s funds management, told PDI that the latest investment is a “stepping stone towards securitisation for the firm”. He added that he is hopeful that the success of the funding line will lead to increased investments from Macquarie in the future.

“Macquarie is a leading global financial institution with a proven deep knowledge of the UK mortgage market. This warehousing lines will assist us as we move towards being able to securitise our assets for institutional investors,” said Christian Faes, chief executive of LendInvest.

Last week, Macquarie launched its second UK inflation-linked debt fund. The infrastructure debt arm of the Australian firm is seeking to collect commitments from UK pension schemes seeking to invest at least £10 million into debt to match their long-term inflation-linked liabilities.

LendInvest was established in 2013 and has originated more than £625 million of property loans to landlords and developers.