6 Valuations in Peer-to-Peer Lending in 2019
By Daniel Rajkumar | 04/09/2019
Valuing a P2P lending business is tricky. Some say to apply a formula of 0.9x loanbook value then apply modifiers, for the age, performance, team and other measures but we've seen some companies get substantially more, while others get less. Here are some noteworthy equity fundraises so far in 2019, totalling £8.9m:
Date | Platform | Valuation (£m) | Raise (£m) | Equity |
27 Aug 19 | £29 | £0.75 | 2.53% | |
20 May 19 | £52.2 | £1.866 | 3.57% | |
5 Apr 19 | £18.25 | £2.27 | 8.57% | |
19 Mar 19 | £15.707 | £1.099 | 3.68% | |
26 Feb 19 | £26 | £0.458 | 1.73% | |
11 Feb 19 | £40 | £2.201 | 4.48% |
Many platforms have yet to deliver a dividend to shareholders, so there is considerable future/goodwill value being invested into the sector. What's interesting is that these strong valuations come at a time when Funding Circle's share price has faced a hammering. In the period from IPO to 8th August 2019 the share price lost 77% of its value falling from 440 to 99.93 pence a share. However, it's understandable that many early-stage investors have been on a journey that has seen multiple raises, repeated dilutions, and acquisition through share swaps (including Zencap) so its understandable that these shareholders have wanted to liquidate.
What could your platform be worth within 2 years?
Did you know that one of our clients achieve a valuation over £10m within 2 years of launch? In the build-up, we were happy to provide extended credit to them while they grew the business to be investible. We're generally happy to be entrepreneurial with our clients, to help them build shareholder value because it's by creating and supporting a healthy client base that we have a future proof business.
Plus its always great PR when a client exits.
PS: If we help you build, launch and exit a platform, please remember to invite us to the party!
Want to know more? You can normally find us at one of the Fintech North events, or feel free to give us a call.