LendInvest raises £150m in joint venture with Nomura and Magnetar

LendInvest’s lending capital has now reached £1bn (€1.11bn) following a £150m funding joint venture with investment bank Nomura and Magnetar.

The UK online platform for property finance and investing said the initial funding received from Nomura and the multi-strategy alternative investment manager will be used for residential development finance.

The latest investors now join a broad range of institutional investors investing in LendInvest’s secured property loans.

As reported late last year, LendInvest added Citigroup to its list of institutional investors, to help build the property finance platform’s buy-to-let lending volume.

Other institutions investing in LendInvest’s secured property loans, include Macquarie Bank, Merseyside Pension Fund and a listed UK bank.

In total, LendInvest’s total capital for lending now amounts to around £1bn, it said.

Christian Faes, the co-founder and CEO of LendInvest, said: “Development Finance is a key product for us as it complements our dominant position in short-term mortgages, and our expanding Buy-to-Let product, further establishing LendInvest as the ‘one-stop-shop’ for property entrepreneurs.

“This funding joint venture with Nomura and Magnetar will allow us to continue to grow our development finance product, and to provide much-needed funding for SME house-builders across the country.”

Aidan McKeown, who headed the London-based deal team at Magnetar Capital, said: “We are delighted to partner with LendInvest and their experienced team as they continue to build a robust and agile lending platform that supports SME housebuilders across the UK. We look forward to our partnership which will help LendInvest to grow its programme.”

Roger Cattermole, the managing director at Nomura, said: “We are pleased to be working with LendInvest in order to boost its access to finance for developers.

“Nomura’s participation in this joint venture demonstrates our commitment to providing SMEs and property entrepreneurs with access to funding in an evolving UK residential property market in order to help grow businesses and ultimately support housing supply.”