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Post by parag on Jul 8, 2015 6:38:38 GMT
I am thrilled to announce that Paratus AMC, a residential mortgage servicer and lender, with assets under management of approximately £2.6 billion have acquired a majority stake in Funding Empire. I have emailed all of our lenders this morning to inform them of the deal and if any forum users have any questions, please let me know. This is a testament to the team's hard word and we are all extremely pleased to welcome Paratus on board. Below is a copy of the press release that has been circulated this morning. Paratus AMC takes majority stake in Funding Empire Paratus AMC, the residential mortgage servicer and lender, has acquired a majority stake in Cardiff based P2P lending platform Funding Empire. Funding Empire, which arranges peer to peer loans for businesses, will continue to be based in Cardiff. Hans Geberbauer, CEO of Paratus AMC commented, “We are delighted to have Parag and his team on board. They have built an excellent platform. In the fast moving P2P lending environment, they have resisted the temptation to take short cuts and built out Funding Empire’s business with great care. Combined with our strong balance sheet, mature back office and proven ability in managing secured assets on a large scale, this is a great opportunity to create a market leading business in the dynamic P2P lending market.” Parag Patel, Managing Director of Funding Empire said, “With the backing of Paratus AMC and its extensive infrastructure, we will now be able to accelerate our development of the Funding Empire platform and of new funding and lending products without compromising our reputation for taking a very thorough, transparent and customer-centric approach to doing business.” Ends
Editors’ Notes PARATUS AMC Paratus AMC Limited is a residential mortgage servicer and lender, with assets under management of approximately £2.6 billion, representing circa 27,000 accounts. In February 2015, Paratus AMC launched the specialist buy to let lender Foundation Home Loans. Paratus AMC is based in Bracknell and has 115 employees. FUNDING EMPIRE Funding Empire is a peer to peer lender that allows investors to lend money directly to small and medium sized businesses in the UK. Based in Cardiff, Funding Empire is Wales’ only peer to peer lending platform and was founded in November 2013 by Parag Patel. |
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Post by pepperpot on Jul 8, 2015 9:20:47 GMT
Interesting news parag and I guess congratulations are in order. Might we see some BTL loans coming to the platform? Also, BLX seems to have gone quiet, any news on that front? |
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jonno
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Post by jonno on Jul 8, 2015 9:24:27 GMT
parag: Congratulations, great news for you and your company. Is this going to inspire a change in asset class towards more property related lending? The reason I ask is that one of the reasons I have lent on the platform is that it provides some diversification away from property which many other platforms have moved into. Whilst there is no doubt room for property assets on your platform, it would be disappointing if this move lead to a significant swerve towards this type of lending at the expense of what you are currently doing. Regards and good luck Jonno.
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Post by parag on Jul 8, 2015 9:50:42 GMT
pepperpot Thank you, much appreciated. We are working on some new products which as soon as I can share with you, I will. The BLX loans will begin flowing again imminently, it's top of the list. jonno Thank you, much appreciated. We will have a range of products moving forward and your concern has been duly noted. I don't anticipate moving towards a sole property product offering and we are aiming to offer lenders as much diversification as possible, across as many different asset classes as possible. Hope this helps. Kind Regards, Parag
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jonno
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Post by jonno on Jul 8, 2015 9:55:38 GMT
pepperpot Thank you, much appreciated. We are working on some new products which as soon as I can share with you, I will. The BLX loans will begin flowing again imminently, it's top of the list. jonno Thank you, much appreciated. We will have a range of products moving forward and your concern has been duly noted. I don't anticipate moving towards a sole property product offering and we are aiming to offer lenders as much diversification as possible, across as many different asset classes as possible. Hope this helps. Kind Regards, Parag Thanks for the prompt response parag.Also thanks for the reassurance; looking forward the future development of your excellent platform.
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Post by jumpingjackflash on Jul 8, 2015 19:26:38 GMT
Isn't Paratus the old GMAC sub-prime mortgage lender that blew up & was bought by Fortress during the GFC?
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Post by parag on Jul 8, 2015 20:35:34 GMT
jumpingjackflash It is fair to say that nearly every lender suffered as a result of the GFC. However, I feel the main point to note is the changes they have all made since, and where each of them are today.
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jonno
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Post by jonno on Jul 15, 2015 10:42:13 GMT
Morning parag; Deal flow appears to have dried up somewhat. Any imminent plans? |
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Post by parag on Jul 15, 2015 18:12:49 GMT
Hi jonno. Expecting a few loans to be ready in the next few days. Apologies for the lack of new loans recently. Top of the list is working towards accelerating the rate of new loans and maintaining that flow as well as the credit standards. Regards, Parag |
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baldpate
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Post by baldpate on Jul 23, 2015 19:08:03 GMT
Hi parag, well, more than the promised "few days" have passed since your last post, and there is still no sign of a further asset-backed loan in the BLX series. In fact it has now been a full month since the last such loan was drawn down. Given that there had previously been a pretty regular flow of around three loans per month, it is difficult to understand why there should be such an hiatus. Frankly I am becoming concerned that there has been some sort of breakdown in the relationship with BLX, perhaps occasioned by your acquiring a new 'big brother'. That would be very bad news for existing lenders in this loan series. I would like to hear a substantive explanation for this gap in the loan flow : something more than anodyne promises of "imminent" and "few days" - particularly when those promises are not fulfilled. Or maybe blxjohn, the representative of BLX who posted in the announcement thread back in April, would care to comment. After all, it was he who, in that thread, said: " It means that, in the next 2 months, the BLX will probably list 3 or 4 loans per month and monthly levels will grow considerably after that." |
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Post by parag on Jul 23, 2015 20:19:31 GMT
baldpate Hi. John from BLX is drafting a response to your post. He is best placed to explain the recent shortage of BLX loans. However, I can assure you that the relationship with BLX is stronger than ever and the deal has had no negative impact at all on our collaboration. If after John's post you have any questions, please let me know. Kind Regards, Parag
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Post by blxjohn on Jul 23, 2015 20:29:49 GMT
baldpate Parag has alerted me to a concern expressed by you. Please forgive the rushed reply and the numbered points, but I am about to go into another meeting. 1. When we first entered the collaboration with Funding Empire, we did not of course know that the whole project would be accelerated due to the Paratus involvement - we had agreed to ease business quite gently onto the platform to assess investor appetite over a few months 2. We have been finalising a brief for a major development phase with the BLX online system – it had always been scheduled in July / August as this is, historically, a very slow period for new business enquiries within the leasing industry 3. As everyone connected with the asset finance industry knows, July and August is known as the “Silly Season” where owners of businesses and our brokers / introducers go on holiday 4. We can never control when documents are returned to us by clients therefore we can never promise exactly when deals are going to be placed on the platform 5. We have a current pipeline of finance offers out to clients of approximately £98,000 as at close of play today - we are waiting for clients to respond 6. Documents to the loan value of approximately £28,000 are expected back from clients very shortly and will be placed on the platform as soon as they arrive 7. Far from Paratus causing a “breakdown in the relationship” the opposite is true - due to the financial 'clout' Paratus offers, there exists an exciting opportunity to establish a significant presence in the asset finance marketplace, this is the subject of discussion at my meeting scheduled with Parag and Paratus next Thursday
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baldpate
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Post by baldpate on Jul 23, 2015 21:06:50 GMT
Many thanks for coming back so quickly. I'm reassured to hear that all is well with the relationship, and that the recent absence of loan offers is mainly down to happenstance and the 'slow season'. Sorry if I came across as being suspicious, but we lenders can be a paranoid lot  - any unexplained deviation from pattern tends to arouse concern. Thanks again |
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Post by parag on Jul 24, 2015 13:39:24 GMT
Hi baldpate. No problem at all! We have just posted a new loan on the platform this afternoon. Kind Regards, Parag |
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Steerpike
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Post by Steerpike on Jun 19, 2016 10:05:26 GMT
Still patiently twiddling my thumbs.  I am new to this platform and have been buying parts on the SM and there are plenty left, are you at your limit on these loans or do you avoid the SM for some reason?
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- any unexplained deviation from pattern tends to arouse concern.
