CapitalRise bucks Covid-19 crisis with strong growth in 2021
CapitalRise has reported a strong few months of loan originations, coupled with “huge growth in investor demand”, despite the challenges of the pandemic.
The prime property investment platform reached its £100m lending milestone in early 2021 and since then lending volumes have continued to rise, with a further £20m originated over the last few months alone.
Loan applications have also jumped significantly. Over the 12 months to the end of July, it reported a £1.2bn increase in new enquiries compared to the same period in 2020.
Read more: CapitalRise chief says Covid has shown resilience of prime property
“In addition to the growth in demand from borrowers, we’ve also seen huge growth in investor demand in 2021,” Uma Rajah, chief executive of CapitalRise, told Peer2Peer Finance News.
“In July, we processed over £11.1m in new investments on the CapitalRise platform, a record-breaking month for our company.”
While prime central London prices had been in decline since 2014, Rajah said the market appears to be at a turning point. She pointed to figures from estate agent Knight Frank which show prime London prices increased by 0.5 per cent over the three months to June 2021 – and she expects this upward trend to continue.
“This makes it a very attractive point in the property cycle for developers to acquire sites and to kick off new projects,” she said.
Rajah added that the market continues to adapt to changes created by the pandemic. For example, developers are responding to demand to convert prime property assets from office to residential, as well as increased buyer demand for residential properties with space for home offices or gyms, or outdoor space.
Read more: P2P property: Rolling with the punches