SoMo sees 63 per cent rise in broker enquiries
SoMo has seen a 63 per cent rise in enquiries from brokers in April since educating them on the benefits of second charge and equitable loans.
The peer-to-peer lending platform said second charge lending makes up half of its loans now.
The specialist property lender said many companies use it for working capital to refinance coronavirus business interruption loan scheme loans, pay staff or fund new ventures and opportunities.
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“With the cost-of-living crisis effecting everyone, we wanted to raise awareness of – and uses for – our second charge and equitable charge loans,” said Louis Alexander (pictured), chief executive of SoMo.
“Over 25 per cent of first charge lenders do not approve the second charge consent but as we don’t require consent from the first charge lender, it gives SoMo an increased acceptance rate of clients. We accept this risk and for this reason, we’re very successful in this area.
“If you’re a broker and you’re using a bridging lender for second charge loans, you should only ever use one that allows for refused consent. So many cases stall or fail entirely at this stage, you really are looking after your clients’ best interests by choosing a lender that offers this.
“SoMo has focussed on second charge lending from the very beginning, and it comes as no surprise to us that the market is growing.”
In April, SoMo said it had seen a 25 per cent rise in second charge lending in the last 12 months, as businesses look to grow post-Covid.