JustUs gears up to enter P2P mortgage market
JUSTUS has embarked on a £4.5m fundraising campaign, as it prepares to expand its lending into residential owner-occupied mortgages.
The peer-to-peer lender, which already provides bridging and buy-to-let loans, is offering equity in its own platform and will use some of the money raised to enter the residential owner-occupied mortgage market.
There is a minimum investment of £5,000 in the fundraising, which is eligible for inclusion in the Enterprise Investment Scheme – a tax relief designed to encourage investment in unlisted companies.
It comes as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is due to release a policy statement during the second quarter of 2019 in response to its P2P post implementation review consultation, which Birkett says will outline the regulator’s approach to regulated home finance in the P2P market.
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“We already have permissions for regulated loans and affordability responsibilities,” Birkett said.
“We want to bring mortgages to the crowd and are just waiting for the FCA rules to come out so we can get going and bring more choice to those who are financially excluded.”
Birkett said JustUs will offer residential mortgages for home purchase and remortgage alongside its existing products.
Retail investors will be able to invest alongside institutional backers such as pension funds and the loans will be offered over a five-year period.
Birkett said the platform will use his mortgage broking firm Moneybrain alongside a restricted network initially for distribution.