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Post by brettb on Sept 13, 2015 7:42:10 GMT
Hi everyone, Does anyone here know which of the P2P platforms allow investments by businesses and not just individuals? I own a very small limited company that makes a bit of cash every month, and I am thinking about investing the money through the company, rather than taking dividends or a director's pension. My original idea was to put the money into Funding Secure, but their small print seems to imply that investors have to be individuals, not companies  . The alternative is to invest in stocks/bonds. I know Hargreaves Lansdown allow investment accounts to be opened by companies. P.S. I am well aware that keeping cash within a company has many pitfalls (e.g. getting taxed on interest, being classed as an investment company if investment income exceeds income from other business activities). |
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bigfoot12
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Post by bigfoot12 on Sept 13, 2015 8:38:40 GMT
Answering your question without making any recommendation I know Thin Cats does. I was under the impression that Assetz Capital does as well. You might find that others do, but have a more manual sign up process rather than the online signup. It might be worth contacting Ratesetter ( westonkevRS ?) to see if they do and also Wellesley ( wellesleyco ?). You will probably find out with a quick phone call. Edit: The next post I read someone says they lend through Funding Circle with a company. |
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Post by westonkevRS on Sept 13, 2015 9:11:24 GMT
Answering your question without making any recommendation I know Thin Cats does. I was under the impression that Assetz Capital does as well. You might find that others do, but have a more manual sign up process rather than the online signup. It might be worth contacting Ratesetter ( westonkevRS ?) to see if they do and also Wellesley ( wellesleyco ?). You will probably find out with a quick phone call. Edit: The next post I read someone says they lend through Funding Circle with a company. RateSetter accepts lenders that are individuals or companies, in fact as long as the "lender" passes our AML rules we don't really have any limitations other than having a UK address and bank account as residence. westonkevRS
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david42
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Post by david42 on Sept 13, 2015 9:27:16 GMT
Funding Circle, MoneyThing, Ratesetter, Assetz, and Rebuilding Society all allow company accounts.
If you are considering buying shares through your company, first check that whatever system you use to submit your corporation tax returns can handle capital gains. The HMRC free online filing software cannot handle capital gains for corporation tax submissions.
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Post by brettb on Sept 13, 2015 14:01:17 GMT
Thanks everyone!
And also thanks for the tip on capital gains david42.
I think RateSetter could be a good one due to a good rate of return without "gambling" with the company's money (although I am sole director etc. etc.). Also the interest would be easy when it comes to the accounts.
Thin Cats is interesting and one I've not used before - I might give that one a go.
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bigfoot12
Member of DD Central
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Post by bigfoot12 on Sept 13, 2015 15:33:48 GMT
Thin Cats is interesting and one I've not used before - I might give that one a go. Thin Cats are about to change their software and have some other changes coming up so read the forum before committing too much. One interesting thing about them is that quite a few members of their own forum use companies and there is a lot of discussion about how to report losses and the like. There are also guides (written by users) aimed at companies.
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Post by wellesleyco on Sept 14, 2015 8:48:24 GMT
We accept investments by businesses.
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Post by hugoarchover on Sept 14, 2015 9:43:18 GMT
Hi brettbArchOver also allows investments by businesses. |
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Post by lendingcrowd on Sept 28, 2015 12:09:48 GMT
Hi brettb, This reply might be a little late, but LendingCrowd also allows investments by businesses. However this isn't automated yet so there is a form to fill in - let us know if you're interested in this and we'll send it to you by email! Thanks, LendingCrowd |
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Post by emoney on Sept 28, 2015 16:59:44 GMT
Hi brettb, I'm sorry our reply is also a little late, we need to carry out standard AML checks on the Directors and companies house. As long as the companies are not deemed in the business of lending then that's fine. Happy Lending  |
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Post by brettb on Dec 8, 2015 19:11:24 GMT
I'm resurrecting my old thread because there has been a bit of a development... ...anyway, I found that a few P2P platforms allow investments from businesses (thanks for all your replies above). But my plan was actually sunk by... a bank!  Anyway, to cut a long story short... I used to have a business HSBC account. I left the country for a few months, and when I returned I found a letter from them stating that due to account inactivity they were going to close my account. So I went in the branch, and phoned them up and fulfilled the criteria of their letter. Well much to my surprise (well actually I'm not surprised at all - they're idiots) they closed my account anyway  . So I thought I'd open a business account with "trendy" Metro Bank. But much to my surprise they declined my business. I thought I'd have tripped up on the credit check or something (given I move house/country so often), but no - the reason was my company's modest holdings in P2P which I wrote about on my business plan. Apparently they won't touch P2P with a barge pole, even a tiny holding that has no bearing on my own company's main revenue stream (online stuff). Has anyone else run into similar problems? It's a shame to see a "challenger" bank so inflexible, but hey, I have to deal with our own compliance officer in my day job  . And if anyone else has business P2P investments, then tread carefully when talking to your bank  . As to my own circumstances, well maybe I'll close the f*****g business and live off the state like so many others in my neighbourhood  . |
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Post by ablrateandy on Dec 8, 2015 22:01:42 GMT
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Post by easteregg on Dec 8, 2015 22:06:34 GMT
The irony of that is Metro bank lend through Zopa!
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sl125
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Post by sl125 on Dec 13, 2015 12:36:30 GMT
Brett
FWIW, you may have fallen foul of the various FCA rules that the banks need to follow when opening accounts. Not sure whether this counts for anything in the banks' criteria, but the fact that you declared your holding of P2P investments as part of your business plan would possibly by indicative of your trading status as a company - ie. are you a trading company that is simply investing surplus cash (ie. the investment is genuinely non-trading and therefore incidental to your trading activity), or a close investment holding company where the investment income forms over 20% of your turnover?
I run a management consultancy limited company and invest the company's spare cash through the 3 big players (FC, RS and Zopa). My company bank account was opened with Cater Allen, although the account was "introduced" through an accountant. If you're applying directly to the bank without an accountant I should imagine the bank's checks will be more stringent / "tick-box-y" (depending on your point of view). Also, if you are investing in P2P through the company without an accountant, you need to be clear about HMRC loan relationship rules when it comes to the corporation tax side of things (particularly if you trade your loans on the secondary market of platforms such as FC).
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Post by westonkevRS on May 20, 2016 5:39:28 GMT
RateSetter has just launched a web site update focussed on business lenders. This has always been a source of lending for RateSetter (i.e. it's nothing new), but at last we seem to be making more of an effort to tap this resource: www.ratesetter.com/invest/business-savings |
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