Octopus Choice records annual revenue and profit boost
OCTOPUS Choice has hailed the maturity of its business after reporting bumper revenues and pre-tax profits.
The peer-to-peer property lender’s annual accounts for the year to April 2019 show revenues were up 48.2 per cent to £7.5m and profits increased by 132 per cent to £2.1m.
“The increase in profitability is in line with expectations as the company has grown its assets under management significantly and is more mature in the business cycle,” Chris Hulatt, a director at Octopus Choice, said.
“The directors expect the general level of activity and growth to increase in the forthcoming year.
“This is as a result of the early stage of the business and the current and expected growth rate.”
The platform’s revenues were made up of £4.1m in platform fees, £2.1m in arrangement fees, £1.2m in administrative fees and £47,460 from other income.
The accounts also revealed Octopus Choice’s loanbook was at £240.7m as of April 2019, compared with £136.1m a year before.
The number of staff increased over the year from 22 to 27 and wages were also up to £1.2m, from 973,973 a year before.
Read more: Octopus Choice gains full FCA authorisation
It has been a busy period for the whole Octopus Group.
Charlie Taylor (pictured) was named head of Octopus Choice in February, replacing Sam Handfield-Jones who had steered the helm of the P2P property lender since its fruition.
Handfield-Jones has taken on a new role as growth and innovation director at the Octopus Group.
Taylor reports into Ruth Handcock, who was also appointed to the role of chief executive for Octopus Investments earlier this year.
Read more: Octopus Choice diversification sees investors backing 130 loans on average