Edinburgh lending platform sees business boom on Brexit

The firm said that the belief among businesses that a rate cut by the Bank of England was imminent, which was confirmed yesterday, may have encouraged businesses to consider expansion moves in the expectation that the cost of borrowing in the market to fund deals would fall along with asset prices amid the subsequent uncertainty.

As expected, the Bank of England cut the base rate by 0.25 percentage points yesterday, to an all-time record low of 0.25 per cent.

And the LendingCrowd feels it is well-positioned to capitalise having developed a crowdfunding platform which links companies that want to borrow with investors who have cash that they are willing to lend.

The company said applications for loans increased by more than 500 per cent in July, compared with the same month last year.

“Deal activity reached record levels during July, with a definite post-Brexit effect in the corporate deal-making market,” said chief executive Stuart Lunn.

By contrast, there have been reports the Brexit vote has prompted some firms to put mergers and acquisitions activity on hold until the outlook is clearer.

Mr Lunn added: “What is also noteworthy, on the back of widely predicted interest rate cuts, is that more investors are signing up to invest on the platform.”