‘World first’ property crowdfunding platform The House Crowd has just hit a £50m milestone after a record start to the year.
In the first six months of 2017, it raised more than £15m.
The milestone comes weeks after the Manchester-based firm made £600,000 in five hours on its St Thomas Road loan project.
This offered investors eight per cent yield over a fixed six month period at 63.2 per cent LTV.
CEO Frazer Fearnhead said: “Today investors are facing uncertainty on an unprecedented scale. Traditional buy-to-let is now unviable for most individuals, interest rates are woefully low and look to stay low for considerable time.
“Also, the stock market is a gamble few can afford to take.
“No wonder people are turning to property crowdfunding to take control of their own finances, spreading their risk across a diverse range of investment products.
“This includes property-backed peer-to-peer loans that can provide fixed returns of 8-12 per cent in under 12 months.
“I have no doubt the confidence we’re seeing from investors in our service will continue to grow, as alternative finance takes the place of less attractive, traditional investment options.”
Founded in 2012, The House Crowd grewn by more than 100 per cent in each of the last two years, providing a range of investments secured against property to suit different investor risk profiles and objectives.
It has paid out over £10m in returns to investors, opened a new London office, successfully funded 307 property investments, and grown website members to 15,000.