Peer-to-Peer Lending UK Facts and Figures

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Apr 22, 2014, 03:59 ET

DUBLIN, April 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/txnfws/peertopeer) has announced the addition of the "Peer-to-Peer Lending UK Facts and Figures" report to their offering.

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The UK is one of the most advanced countries in the world for peer-to-peer lending with over 40 platforms.

By 2015, peer-to-peer lending in the UK will be worth £1 billion a year in loans.

As well as growing in popularity, increasingly the peer- to- peer lending space has also caught the eye of institutional players

Websites including Zopa, Ratesetter and Funding Circle put investors together with individuals or businesses who want to borrow money. The theory is that borrowers can get lower rates than a bank would charge them, while lenders can earn more money on their savings than they could from a cash account. However, lending to individuals or small businesses carries the risk that the borrower will go bankrupt and not be able to repay your money.

Peer to peer lending is an increasingly popular way of financing projects, business ideas, and personal loans through small contributions from a large number of individuals.

By 2020 it will be common for businesses to connect with investors via peer-to-peer websites and market wide platforms, which matches SMEs' potential investors, advisers and lenders.

Peer-to-Peer Lending UK facts and figures 2013 a new independent report - from a writer/ researcher/ economist specializing in new financial ideas, explains UK peer to peer lending in ways any intelligent non-specialist can understand.

Author Ian Youngman comments, Most information has come from peer-to-peer lenders or their opponents, so this is the first major independent review of peer to peer lending in the UK. With 40 platforms plus other crowd fund platforms looking at the sector, every month brings a new player. Platforms have failed and there is a risk that the industry could be hijacked by the banks.

Key Topics Covered:

1. Overview

2. Background

3. Market size

4. Platforms

5. Why it has risen

6. Research

7. Viewpoints

8. Regulation

9. UK government initiatives

10. UK peer-to-peer lender initiatives

11. Links with bankers

12. Trade bodies

13. How it works

14. Types of loans

15. Businesses and other users

16. Other lenders

17. Competing products

18. The future