BondMason says closure of P2P service has proved a good decision for clients
BondMason’s decision to exit investing in peer-to-peer loans has been shown to be a good idea in hindsight, its chief executive has said.
The direct lending investment service, BondMason Core, previously allocated investor funds to property-backed and P2P loans and targeted returns of six per cent.
However, it made the decision to close its P2P offering and instead focus on a buy-to-let investment portfolio in May 2019, which it said was due to a shortage of suitable investment options.
Returns in the P2P sector have since come under pressure due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Read more: Is there a future for P2P investment aggregators
Stephen Findlay (pictured), chief executive of BondMason, said more than half of lending platforms have fully repaid their loans in the 15 months since a wind-down was announced and more than £15m has been returned to investors.
It is now down to the final 25 per cent of collections
“Things have been pretty much on track after the first year of winding down the BondMason Core service,” Findlay (pictured) told Peer2Peer Finance News.
“Covid-19 is bringing some delays to repayments, and we are cautious about the economic outlook.
“Clearly it wasn’t foreseen, but our decision to cease our investment service in May 2019, is likely to have been a good decision for our clients.”