JustUs reopens secondary market
JustUs has reopened its secondary market after suspending it at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The peer-to-peer lending platform paused its secondary market and new lending in March 2020 due to the coronavirus crisis.
Last September, it started listing new loans again and accepting investments.
Now, JustUs founder Lee Birkett (pictured) said the platform has started lending to new borrowers again and has reopened its secondary market as lockdown restrictions start to ease in England.
He said the platform has a strong pipeline of £1bn in new loans over the past couple of months, funding the acquisition of acquiring developments of a first-time buyer home and family home.
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“Our pipeline is strong, we just needed the economy to open up and that was Monday,” Birkett said.
“For full confidence you need to provide a liquid secondary market so people can get their money back as they need it.
“We’ve been able to operate one but took more of a cautious approach until we knew what happens with the economy. Now there’s a loan scheme running until the end of the year providing additional capital there, the government is supporting the property market and there’s the furlough scheme.
“The government support mitigates against additional shocks and gives us confidence to get back into business and be a fully operational platform. I think cautious optimism is the key word.
“Our loans are all asset backed so are always sold at par. The secondary market is fully liquid, with committed capital to buy loan units. But we don’t expect much to be available because our loan units are in high demand.”